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FTII students show solidarity with those on hunger strike, refuse to submit assignments
Wednesday saw one more student join the hunger strike while a student who had been fasting was taken to the hospital after her health deteriorated.
PUNE The four students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) on an indefinite hunger that began on Monday have received support from fellow students who have decided to not submit their final assignments, to show their solidarity.
Wednesday saw one more student join the hunger strike while a student who had been fasting was taken to the hospital after her health deteriorated.
According to representatives of the student association, a total of 150 students from the 2017 and 2018 batch have decided not to submit their assignments if the administration does not agree to student demands.
“We have most students from the batch of 2017 and 2018 who have stopped work on post-production as part of the final assignment, ” said Aadhith V Sathwin, president, FTII student association.
Students have been on indefinite hunger strike to protest the 10 per cent yearly fee hike and “exorbitant” entrance exam fees. The students stated that the hunger strike will continue until their demands are met. There has been a 10 per cent hike in academic fees year-on-year since the batch of 2013. From the annual fee of Rs 55,380 from the 2013 batch, the fees for the upcoming 2020 batch has reached to Rs 1,18,323. In addition, there has been an increase in the JET (Joint Entrance Test for both FTII and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI)) application fee. From Rs 1,500 in 2015, the entrance exam fee has gone up to a maximum of Rs10,000 for JET 2020.
The students stated the FTII director has not taken their strike seriously and the process of applying for entrance test is still ongoing. “They are playing strategically with us and falsely promising to reduce the entrance exam fees. Last week the governing council met and had a discussion about the issue and concluded that it was not possible to reduce the fees as it has to be changed from the ministry,” said Sathwin.
“The students in Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal have also begun their protest regarding the hike in fees. We are not much hope that anything will come about in the next Governing Council meeting that the director has promised to be held in 10 days,” Sathwin said.
Protesting students served notice
The FTII administration has served notice to the students protesting, asking them to withdraw agitation or face action. The notice served by Proctor, stated, “Administration shall proceed to take disciplinary action deemed necessary if students fail to give an explanation on why disciplinary action shouldn’t be taken against them.”
