NID Ahmedabad terminates agreement with Dhaka institute

“We are with the country and with the government. For the institute, nation is first and in that direction a call was taken. There were no directions from any government (state or central),” NID director Ashok Mondal told The Indian Express.

The agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two institutes was valid for a period of five years.

“However, in view of the current situation and in the paramount interest of national priorities, NID Ahmedabad has decided to take a firm stand and in solidarity with national sentiment as well as in alignment with its ethical framework, the institute has processed termination of the collaborative agreement signed between the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh,” NID stated in an official statement.

In 2015 too, the two institutes had signed a similar agreement, which was valid for three years.

“Though not a legal binding, it was essentially an agreement for academic activity between the two institutes. It was a generic MoU for exchange of academic activities like faculty and student exchange programmes… However, no such activity was undertaken since the signing of the agreement. In the previous agreement too, there was not much exchange programmes or events,” International Programmes Officer Sameer More told this paper.

The official statement further stated: “NID Ahmedabad remains committed to prioritising national interests and upholding its institutional values, responsibilities, and will continue to support the decisions taken by the government. The agreement was not with a specific department or faculty, but between the two institutes to have a larger scope.”

Pathshala offers various short-term and long-term programmes in photography, film and multimedia journalism. Started in 1998, the institution has slowly grown to become a full-fledged photography educational institution.

NID Ahmedabad signs various MoUs with government, social and public institutes, organisations and entities along with state governments to foster exchange of design activities. The institute also works on several projects commissioned to them from these organisations.