http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/FTII-privatisation-draft-rejected/articleshow/6937989.cms
PUNE: The draft for privatisation of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has been rejected in toto by the members of the newly formed PK Nair committee and the FTII chairman.
On Tuesday, FTII director Pankaj Rag and chairman U Ananthamurthy lend support to the students' demands against the institute's privatisation. They promised to communicate the same to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Planning Commission.
What follows this move is a governing council meeting at FTII on Thursday, which will be attended by representatives of the ministry. "There is no question of self-reliance in a film institute like the FTII. I, therefore, support the demands made by students against the institute's privatisation. I shall communicate the same to the Planning Commission. And, if things don't happen accordingly, I will be the first to resign," said Ananthamurthy while addressing the students on Tuesday.
Members of the PK Nair Committee, like filmmakers Jahnu Baruah, Kundan Shah, Shaji Karun and scriptwriter Shama Zaidi among others, were present in the meeting held on Tuesday with the FTII student representatives and alumni.
The online petition floated by FTII students two days ago has already got a favourable response from several student and teacher organisations, besides NGOs all the city and all over the country. "The PK Nair Committee needs to be empowered. Details are being worked out as to how this committee will function and what suggestions it will make now that the proposed draft report has been scrapped," said Samarth Dixit, president of FTII students' association.
Rag said that steps are being taken to resolve this issue. "We will be deferring the admission of the next batch till this problem is solved. We will make sure that students' issues are put across to the ministry," he said. The Governing Council meeting on Thursday will determine the next course of action at FTII.
The conclusions of the meeting with the Chairman of FTII with the administration and the student's body yielded an extensive statement from Dr. UR Ananthmurthy, (Chairman).
ReplyDeleteThe unequivocal demands of the students were addressed in the backdrop of a passionate protest which took the form of the whole student community coming together to oppose the Hewitt report, the impending threat of its implementation and the immediate need of an official ratification of the PK Nair committee's mandate which had been subverted after the previous GC.
The Chairman has called for an emergency Governing Council meeting which is slated to take place on the 18th November ' 10. He stated that the GC is being convened to give the PK Nair committee official mandate, address the issue of the admission of a new batch in the face of an ill-equipped Institute.
The students hope that the larger discourse on the policy level attitude of the I& B ministry towards privatization of education and the Planning Commissions diktat about transforming FTII and SRFTI into ' self reliant/revenue generating/profit generating' Institutions will be addressed concretely.
The agitation for a truly democratic, functional, autonomous space, where cinema can thrive as a pluralistic art form, not limited by the whims and fancies of a myopic Ministry will continue till FTII can continue to be a space that reflects, incubates and encourages the education of film in its truest sense.
Hoping for support, suggestions and your valuable feedback.
Do also visit our blog for updates, press releases, photographs, videos. An online petition has been filed by the students body, FTII, please sign, it would help our endeavors.
http://www.petitiononline.com/ftii/petition.html
Regards,
FTII Student Community
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http://ftiistudentsbody.blogspot.com