“Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty, when the state has become lawless or corrupt”, we abide the words spoken by Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest visionaries of our nation. We are living in an entirely collapsed system and yes, we are united to scrape it out. Speaking about unity, it’s not an idea with a single aspect but the amalgamation of various aspects into a single idea. In terms of that, unity defines a universal act of valor that is much needed for the dissents of every community to move forward.
We, the students of Government Film and Television Institute(GFTI), Bangalore, are seeking solidarity on behalf of the problems that are presently undergoing in our institute. The current campaign started on 12.04.2016 mirroring the issues happening in the institute and its major concern is to draw your attention towards the fact- “The future of GFTI and its fellow film students are at risk”
GFTI, which has a great history in its active horizon, is now at stake of its very existence due to the sheer ignorance by the authorities of the institute. Under the World Bank assisted program in 1996, Government of Karnataka decided to extract the two departments; Cinematography and Sound Recording & Engineering from S. J. Polytechnic to form an individual film institute named as Government Film and Television Institute with great infrastructure and was shifted to Hesaraghatta over an area of 25 acres. All these years the Institute have been functioning under the Department of Technical Education (DTE), which has failed to address the absolute intention of film studies. The guidelines created by DTE are inefficient to support film making courses and no expert’s ideas were taken into consideration while designing the curriculum. Unlike every other film institute in India, here we don’t have an autonomous body to control the academic and administrative affairs. The institute has not provided the basic facilities like updated equipment and experienced faculties, respective to the curriculum. The current governing panel failed to construct an academic structure even to the ethos of a film institute and in contributing any kind of valuable inputs to its fellow students.
During the past few years, GFTI authorities are not conducting the required teaching and practical sessions as prescribed by curriculum. Students have been forced to write semester examinations without having the opportunity to attend classes. There have been instances where students merely wrote their examinations without having any facility to attend a single teaching or practical session for subjects. Many students have been pushed to undergo ‘year-back’ by GFTI authorities, where the authorities are not taking any initiative to conduct proper teaching sessions.
There have been instances where students merely wrote their examinations without having any facility to attend a single teaching or practical session for subjects.
We started to fight against a corrupt and baseless system that is potent enough to mortify the passion and life of every film ardent born into it. Our demands appear very genuine and legit in a glimpse, to anybody that goes through it. We want our curriculum to be completed with the support of proper facilities like updated equipment, qualified faculties, supporting staffs and technicians, conducting of workshops and industry assistance. These are the basic things to be demanded as film students and we’re pledged to strive until the reformation of this institute, as a full-fledged film institute in function. This is to continue learning in the most enabling environment and to create an aesthetic and artistic space for the future talents to enrich.
On behalf of everyone at GFTI, I’m seeking all your immense support and solidarity to our movement in this very time of contend. Your expression of solidarity, no matter how big or small; materialistic or aesthetic, resonate within us as we continue to fight for what is right. As history reminds, every fight for justice would be a long call of sufferance, your continual support throughout the fire-walk is imperative for us to earn it.
