FTII fee hike: Meeting in Delhi on Dec 27 to address concerns

NEW DELHI: Awaiting justice, students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, continue to protest against the “exorbitant” hike in tuition fee and registration fee for the Joint Entrance Test (JET).

On December 16, four office-bearers of FTII Students’ Association - Aadhith V Sathwin, Vivek Allaka, Rajarshi Mujumdar and P.R. Manikandan – started a hunger strike to oppose the 10 per cent hike in academic fees that the institute allegedly imposes every year. In 2013, the annual fee was Rs 55,380 which has been increased to Rs 1,18,323 for the upcoming academic year. Along with that, the registration fee for the JET has been increased to Rs 10,000 for three courses. The entrance test is conducted for admission to FTII and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata.

The students of FTII and SRFTI have demanded that the administration revokes the continuous increase in academic fees and halts JET 2020 until the registration fee is reduced. The JET is scheduled for February 15 and 16, 2020 in 27 cities across India.

“The hunger strike lasted for four days after that our chairman B.P. Singh sir ...told us that two students will be representing the students’ (demands) in the Governing Council meeting. He also assured that he will look into this matter,” said a student of FTII. The Governing Council is the apex body of the FTII and it is responsible for making all major policy decisions.

The meeting will be held at Shastri Bhawan on December 27, 2019.

Protest continues

The hunger strike was called off on December 20 but the students have continued their protest in different ways. “We have not submitted our projects. The post-production projects have been stalled and we will decide our future course of action after the meeting. Aadhith, our president and general secretary, Rajarshi Mujumdar are leaving for Delhi tonight (for the meeting)”.

Earlier, the alumni of both institutes had expressed solidarity with the protesters and their open letter was endorsed by over 400 including prominent personalities from the film and television industry. “Students from economically less privileged backgrounds come from different corners of our country and bring with them a whole world of rare and unique ideas, cultures and stories that enrich our cinemas. Therefore, it is imperative that fees are kept at a level that makes FTII education viable for all aspirants and not becomes a privilege for a few,” read the letter.