BENGALURU: Students of the Government Film and Television Institute (GFTI) are up in arms at the introduction of a new syllabus that does not include any core subject related to filmmaking but has a number of subjects in engineering. They suspect that this is a move to change the institute into a polytechnic, to draw more students.
In a release issued recently on the matter by the GFTU Students Council, it is stated that the curriculum drafting committee has redrafted the syllabus of cinematography for the first year students of 2017 batches by omitting subjects like “film review, introduction to sound recording, visual design and composition and replacing them with engineering subjects”.The same has also been done for the course on sound recording and engineering. A student from the institute says, “This is a clear attempt by the authorities to slowly turn the institute into a government polytechnic so that it gets more students to apply. As of now, very few students apply for admission into the film course... The students who did were not aware or even informed that the syllabus was changed.”
Calls to the institute’s principal on the matter went unanswered.
The institute offers a diploma course in cinematography and sound engineering. In semester one of the cinematography course, for example, the evolution of photography taught earlier has been changed to engineering mathematics, an introduction to sound recording has now changed to basic electrical and electronics engineering. In the second semester, an introduction to cinematography has been changed to engineering mathematics part-2. Concepts of photography is now
changed to applied science and visual design and composition is now communication skills in English.
With regards to sound engineering, the subjects taught in semester one are now - engineering mathematics from the earlier topic of an introduction to sound, Evolution of photography has now been changed to basic electrical and electronics engineering. In semester two, studio recording techniques has been changed to engineering mathematics part-2, digital electronics is now applied science, the physics of music is now changed to communication skills in English, sync sound practicals is now applied science practicals and cinema review of the earlier syllabus is now concepts of a computer lab.
The GFTI has been facing a number of problems from a very long time. The lack of proper infrastructure, equipment and teaching faculty are some of the major problems. The Department of Techincal Education (DTE) under whom the institute falls recently made the eligibility criteria to enter the institute from PUC to SSLC. Another very controversial move is allowing only students from the state to apply to the
institute.