'FTII to be at par with IITs, IIMs': Govt says institute will not be privatised but upgraded

As the stalemate between the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and the government over appointment of actor and BJP MP Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman continues, the government confirmed that they are working to bring the institute at the same level as IITs and IIMs. According to The Times of India , the Centre is planning to give FTII “the status of institute of national importance.” The institute currently is autonomous and falls under the jurisdiction of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Last week, when the protesting students of FTII met with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, there were reports alleging that the Union Finance Minister, in a veiled warning, threatened to privatise FTII if the students did not cooperate.

The Indian Express in a report last week quoted the press note and said, “When brought to the minister’s notice that an institution embodies a vision which the present society was not in a position to provide, he indicated that if students persisted in their demand for reconstitution of the society they might have to face the bleak prospect of shutdown and eventual privatisation.”

However, according to D Narain, director of FTII, refuted the claims. “The minister did not talk about privatisation or a shutdown of the institute at all. FSA [the students’ association> totally misunderstood what the minister said in reference to the report of Geeta Krishnan (sic) committee in the late 90’s recommending privatisation of institutions including FTII which the I&B ministry did not accept. On the contrary the ministry pumped more funds to boost the FTII,” PTI quoted Narain as saying.

According to the report in The Times of India, once the FTII is brought under the Common Universities Act, the institute will not just be autonomous but it can also grant degrees. The I&B ministry has also planned to invest Rs 80 crore in the institute for a major infrastructure overhaul. With total expenditure of 200 crore over 5 years, the ministry plans to invest to upgrade studios, cameras and post production equipment. DNA  quoted a source as saying, “If the ministry is spending public money in the Institute, it is well within its right to appoint a governing council to ensure accountability and transparency in its working.”

Many eminent film personalities, including actress Pallavi Joshi and National Award-winning filmmaker Jahnu Barua have resigned as members of the FTII Society expressing their reservations on being part of it. Pledging her support to the agitation by the students, Joshi told PTI, “There is no point in continuing as member of the FTII Society if the students with whom I wanted to interact as future prospects of the film industry, are unhappy.”

The nomination of Barua, Joshi and other members to the FTII society was announced by the Information and Broadcasting ministry last month.

With agency inputs