Tensions escalated at the the Film And Television Institute Of India (FTII) after the new administration approved a set of proposals, which will convert the institute into a Digital Media University. According to an Indian Express report, the recommendations were approved at an Academic Council meeting headed by Vice-Chairman BP Singh on Wednesday, even as students protested against it. There has been an ongoing agitating against chairman Gajendra Chauhan for over a year now.
The proposal, called ‘Vision Document’, was presented by the Governing Council’s Vice-Chairman BP Singh, and recommends key changes in the syllabus, overall structure, and functioning of the institute. The plan aims to convert the institute into a non-residential university, and replace the prevailing annual assessment system with a Choice-Based Credit System (CBCR).
Read the Vision Document here:
The Vision Document recommends setting up nine different ‘schools’ under the aegis of the FTII, which would offer a total of 22 courses, including long-term courses like an MBA in disciplines like Advertising, Music Composing, Internet Media and Video Games, Dubbing and Voicing, Make-Up and Hairstyling, Costume Design, Radio Programme Production, Special Visual Effects, and Stunts. Each course will have 15-20 seats, of which 30 per cent will be reserved for students from Southeast Asia and Africa.
The institute currently offers 11 courses — seven on filmmaking and four on television production. Students are concerned that the proposals are designed to convert the institute into a private university in the future, which would result in a steep increase in fees, and make it difficult for students from modest backgrounds to study at the institute.
“In its current form, the proposal will turn this place into a market-driven factory,” Harishankar Nachimuthu, President of FTII Students Association, told the Indian Express.
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The campus has been tense ever since the Information and Broadcasting Ministry appointed a lesser known B Grade actor and a member of the BJP, Gajendra Chauhan, as the institute’s chairman on 9 June 2015, a post earlier held by film makers like Girish Karnad, Shyam Benegal, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan. According to a PTI report, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Gulzaar had been considered for the post, but the Ministry selected Chauhan as they felt “he could devote more time to the institute”. Soon after the appointment, the student’s union launched an indefinite strike against the Ministry’s decision, which they considered a political move to saffronise the FTII, which has a long-standing reputation of being a liberal space.
Meanwhile, veteran actor Tom Alter resigned as the head of FTII’s Acting Department allegedly due to issues with the Acting Department students. However, the FTII administration attributed Alter’s resignation to his inability to devote time for academic activities. According to an Indian Express report, Alter had an argument with students on May 23 at the Director’s office, following which, he had threatened to resign.
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