FTII students unhappy with key academic changes

Students’ association members of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) on Thursday expressed displeasure over the newly constituted academic council, which passed key academic changes such as choice-based credit system, electives, new syllabus and new vision statement.

The students’ ire comes months after their long agitation against the appointment of television actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Gajendra Chauhan as institute’s new chairman in June last year.

Students had boycotted classes for a long time and went on a strike to oppose the appointment, demanding his ouster. “We are not disagreeing with each and everything, but our primary concerns are against choice-based credit system and electives, which they are going to be implemented in the new syllabus,” said president of FTII students’ association Nachimuthu Harishankar.

He was one of the two students, who had attended the Academic Council meeting held on Wednesday.

“We feel that the whole exercise of bringing these changes is to quantify the education system and it will turn students into more of competition rather than concentrating on holistic learning,” he said.

He said the changes, which the council was trying to bring in, were not in tandem with the culture and tradition of the institute as they would “destroy the creative atmosphere of the institute”.