More trouble for beleaguered Film and Television Institute in Arunachal: Students refuse to return for 2nd semester

Following a tumultuous first semester punctuated by two “academic halts” by the distressed students, as reported by The Indian Express earlier this year, the institute went into its end-of-semester break on November 1. Now, with the institute calling back students for their second semester, the students say they cannot “repeat the compromise” and have sent various letters to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and to the Vice Chancellor of SRFTI.

In one of the letters sent last month, students of the Screen Acting department raised concerns about incomplete and makeshift provisions for their performing studio and dance studio, and the absence of facilities such as a preview theatre, and costume and carpentry departments, among many others. In another similar letter, students of the Documentary Cinema programme have raised concerns, including the absence of a fully functional sound studio and studio floor, and a preview theatre. Their concerns also included simple worries such as the lack of access to shops and the lack of institutional visibility with no official website, social media presence, or even student ID cards.

“Our intention has always been to learn and to receive the training that a national film institute is meant to provide. We are not resisting education; we are asking for an environment where education is realistically possible. The first semester has already been compromised due to infrastructural and administrative delays. With only three semesters remaining in our specialised programme, further academic loss is not recoverable,” they wrote in their letter.

“In light of the issues outlined in this document… we request an official, itemised, time-bound action plan from the Ministry and SRFTI… Until such a plan is issued and the required conditions are fully met, we will not be able to return to the campus. Making arrangements that are temporary or makeshift is unacceptable; only permanent solutions that ensure the continuity and credibility of the course can adequately support our academic needs,” they wrote.

The lack of preparedness to welcome students had been acknowledged in SRFTI’s Academic Council in July, the minutes of which suggested a consensus to keep the admission process on hold until basic infrastructure is completed.

“We had started the first batch with limited resources and promises for infrastructure delivery within the course, which unfortunately could not be met. The students are facing a lot of issues… Basic essentials like hostels, mess, digital labs and administrative blocks are yet to be delivered…” read the minutes of the meeting.

However, VC Samiran Datta told The Indian Express that the institute would go ahead with admissions for the next batch, after realigning itself with the UGC’s timeline such that the intake of the next batch will be completed by July 2026.

“It is true that there is infrastructure pending, and that is the reason we haven’t started in a full-fledged manner. We specifically chose a few courses we felt could be started and pedagogy maintained within the given resources we had. We have communicated multiple times with students that the institute will do what it has to to fulfil the requirements of their courses. There are some things which are still in the works and will only be required 10 weeks into the semester, by which time they will be completed. And we have got assurance from the ministry that when necessary, facilities will be made available elsewhere, such as DD facilities in Arunachal and Guwahati, and the SRFTI campus in Kolkata,” he said.

The institute has attributed the lack of readiness to delays by the Central Public Works Department, which had in turn cited reasons tied to the remoteness of the location, including difficulty in moving material and sourcing labour, as slowing down progress.