FTII students call off strike

Kanchana Suggu in Bombay

The 45-day-old strike of the students of the renowned Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, has now been called off.

For 45 days, no lectures were conducted and the students were found at the main gate of the Institute.

The students' core demands were as follows:
1 Scrapping of the new 1+1+1 structure; reverting to the three-year integrated course and accommodating all the 64 students of the basic course in the 3-year integrated course.
2 Implementation of the revised syllabus designed by the faculty, student representatives, working professionals and ex-FTII graduates.
3 Roll back of the sevenfold fee hike, which was increased from Rs 3000 to Rs 22,000 per annum.
4 Withdrawal of false legal charges against the senior students.

Director Mohan Agashe had filed a case against some 20 students (boys and girls) for attempt of murder on the director.

The students emphatically state that the strike has been called off following the assurances given to them by the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj and the newly appointed Governing Council Chairman, Vinod Khanna, Bollywood actor and BJP MP from Gurdaspur.

Says Amala Popuri, a first-year student, FTII, "Both the students as well as the faculty were extremely pleased by the way in which Vinod Khanna approached the whole issue. He came to our campus last Sunday and expressed his deep concern about the present course structure and syllabus."

Following Vinod Khanna's avowal that he thought the students' demands were genuine, faculty and students alike finally see a ray of hope in this new Governing Council Chairman.

In his meeting with the students and faculty at the institute, Khanna emphasised that every student of film should go through the complete, unfragmented three-year course to gain expertise and also develop serious insight into cinema. He also confirmed that the Sushma Swaraj shared his opinion about the unfairness of the compulsory elimination system and is serious about reverting back to the three-year course.

Meanwhile, a review committee will be appointed to revise the structure as well as the syllabus of the course. Students are hopeful that even their demands like the fee hike and legal charges against their seniors will be met.

A governing council meeting to be held on October 16 will chalk out the details of the syllabus and structure.

"I welcome this change. Soon the governing council will have a meeting and all the fine points will be discussed," confirms Mehboob Khan, Deputy Director, Academics, FTII.

Khan is seen as a strong supporter of Director Mohan Agashe by the faculty and the students. He refused to comment when asked if he thought the 1+1+1 structure was fundamentally wrong.

Director Mohan Agashe is now in Delhi. Governing Council Chairman Vinod Khanna refused to comment on the issue saying that details would be disclosed only after a meeting with I&B Minister Sushma Swaraj. He is expected to have a meeting with her today, October 13.

Meanwhile, students will resume classes in a week.