FTI Arunachal Pradesh campus still unfinished despite student protests

An unfinished campus, an absent director, and a lack of institutional identity — Students of the Film and Television Institute of Arunachal Pradesh staged a protest demanding the resolution of these problems. A month later, these problems still persist. 

This is Karthikeya, and let’s dig deeper into what is happening in today’s episode of Straight Up by EdexLive. The institute’s students announced the resumption of their protest and a boycott of all classes due to several unfulfilled promises. 

This issue began on May 15, when students of the institute announced a protest against what they described as “months of administrative apathy” towards their concerns about the lack of infrastructure and basic amenities. 

This was the second such protest by the students, who were from the institute’s first batch. Earlier, they staged a similar protest in March. A few days later, the students announced a total academic boycott on May 18. 

The students’ grievances include a lack of clean drinking water, unreliable electricity with no power backup, inadequate campus security, unfinished classrooms and academic infrastructure, and a spotty internet connection. 

They allege that basic infrastructure and tools required by a film school, such as a Classroom Theatre and an Acting Studio, are yet to be constructed. 

Speaking to EdexLive, protesting students said that the lack of amenities and infrastructure also affected their well-being, as the water makes them sick and they risk accidents attending classes in under-construction classrooms. 

Beyond infrastructure issues, the institution also faces administrative problems.

Students say that FTI Arunachal Pradesh’s recognition as a “national institution” only exists on paper. In reality, the institution lacks a logo, a formal name, a website, student ID cards, or even a full-time director. Due to pressure from the locals, the institute's administration was compelled to hire them instead of qualified staff, resulting in chronic understaffing.

In a completely baffling incident, students recalled that a person hired for the position of a camera assistant did not know how to set up camera equipment.

The protests continued until March 24, when the Joint Secretary for Films from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting visited the campus and spoke to the students, and assured that basic infrastructure like the Classroom Theatre and the Acting Studio would be completed by May 31, and the rest of the campus would be fully constructed by October 31. 

However, in a statement issued on June 22, the students claimed that these promises are yet to be fulfilled. 

Thus, they announced that their academic boycott would continue after the institute resumes its academic sessions from August 4, when it reopens after the monsoon break and would continue until there is progress on the infrastructure.