PUNE: At a special meeting of the Governing Council (GC) of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) on Friday, an ‘in principle’ decision was made to reduce the fees for the Joint Entrance Test (JET) 2020. It has also been decided that the tuition fees for the regular course in 2020 would be reviewed.
As per the statement by FTII Director Bhupendra Kainthola, a five-member committee headed by FTII Governing Council Chairman has been set up to look into the issues and arrive at a decision.
From December 16, four students of FTII’s 2017 batch had started an indefinite hunger strike to protest against the application fees charged by the Institute for JET, and the hike in the fees of the regular courses.
A statement released by the FTII Students Association revealed, “There has been a 10 per cent hike in academic fees year on year since the batch of 2013. From the annual fee of Rs 55,380 of the 2013 batch, the fees of the upcoming 2020 batch have reached to Rs 1,18,323. In addition, there has been an exorbitant rise in the JET application fee. From Rs 1,500 in 2015, the entrance exam fee has gone up to a maximum of Rs 10,000 for JET 2020.”
FTII has been conducting JET along with Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) for the past couple of years. As the application fee for the examination ranges from Rs 4,000 to 10,000, the students of FTII, as well as SRFTI, had been protesting to put JET 2020 on hold until the fees were reviewed.
In a meeting conducted by the GC on Friday, it was decided that the JET 2020 fees would be reduced.
“The quantum of reduction would be decided by January 6, 2020. The review of the fees for the regular courses would also be completed by March 6, 2020,” a statement by Kainthola said.
BONE OF CONTENTION
- FTII has been conducting JET along with Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) for the past couple of years.
- As the application fee for the examination ranges from Rs 4,000 to 10,000, the students of FTII, as well as SRFTI, had been protesting to put the JET 2020 on hold until the fees were reviewed.