Arunachal: FTII students halt classes; cite incomplete campus and non-functional facilities

NEW DELHI: Students of screen acting and documentary cinema at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) here have refused to begin their second semester, alleging that the institute continues to function from an "unfinished, non-functional campus" without essential academic infrastructure.

In a statement on Tuesday, the students said they had already lost an entire semester due to what they described as a "collapsed academic environment" marked by non-operational studios, faulty classrooms, limited camera equipment, no sound studio, weak medical support and a lack of access to basic amenities.

"The institute that was promised as a state-of-the-art national campus is still under construction," they alleged. The students claimed they have repeatedly alerted the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) Kolkata, and the Union Information & Broadcasting ministry through several letters since December last year, but no corrective measures have followed.

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Students halt classes again

They added that the institute had already undergone two academic halts in March and May this year owing to the same unresolved issues. "After classes resumed in August, all infrastructure work stopped completely with the ministry failing to intervene," the statement alleged.

The students added that recent RTI responses and official correspondence between SRFTI and the ministry show the campus remains incomplete and is unfit to admit new students in 2025, forcing a pause in admissions. "If the institute is officially unfit for future students today, why were we admitted last year when the situation was worse?" the students asked, accusing the ministry of treating them as "experimental subjects in a prematurely launched institution".