NEW DELHI: A day after Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students wrote to the Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry seeking its intervention in quashing the appointment of its new chairman, Gajendra Chauhan, the ministry on Tuesday said it was willing to discuss all the issues with the agitating students. The ministry also asked them to resume the classes and resolve the logjam.
In a letter to FTII Students Union president Harishankar Nachimuthu, the ministry said that the government exercised its prerogative to appoint members to the FTII governing council after considering all the facts.
“You will appreciate that frequent disruption to academics on account of extraneous and collateral factors digress from the overall objective. You are, therefore, requested to use your good offices so that the academic session is resumed at the earliest,” the ministry’s letter, signed by Deputy Secretary Deepak Kumar, said.
“In case there are any discussions needed on this, the ministry is willing to discuss all the relevant issues with any person,” it added.
The FTII students are protesting against the appointment Chauhan, saying it was part of the attempts to saffronise education.
The ministry tried to assure the students that it is fully conscious of the fact that the credibility of FTII should be strengthened by the quality of its governance and training.
The letter, further, added that the FTII was an important institution and the quality of its education and training has to be strengthened. “The academic environment and discipline at the institute needs to be fully restored.”
