FTII Itanagar students to return to campus mid-January amid fee hike, infrastructure concerns

Students of the first batch of the Screen Acting and Documentary Cinema departments of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Itanagar have announced that they will report to the campus by mid-January 2026 to assess on-ground progress and keep dialogue open with authorities, even as key concerns over infrastructure and academic loss remain unresolved.

The students of FTII Itanagar have been boycotting classes since December. The decision to return to campus comes amid concerns over release of admission forms for the 2026 academic session and a proposed 5% hike in fees for multiple courses, with students citing limited transparency on infrastructure readiness and faculty appointments.

Students said the move marks a “calibrated shift in strategy” after nearly a year of sustained protests triggered by an unfinished campus, repeated missed deadlines, and prolonged uncertainty.

Also read ‘Last democratic step’: Why 200 OUAT Bhubaneswar research scholars are on hunger strike

FTII Itanagar: Students protest

While reiterating that their objective is not to undermine the institute, they stressed that the intent is to safeguard the integrity of film education at a national institution and ensure that the first batch of FTII Itanagar is not defined by compromise.

Since December 2024, students have raised their concerns through formal representations, RTI applications, two academic halts in March and May 2025, and sustained media engagement. In December 2025, they refused to begin semester 2 after it became evident that essential film-school infrastructure was still not in place, the student press release read.

The students acknowledged a noticeable increase in construction activity following an online interaction with a review committee on December 21, 2025, and an announcement on December 23 of a proposed high-level visit by ministers and senior officials scheduled for January 5–6. However, the visit did not materialise, and students said no formal assurance or binding timeline for completion has since been communicated.

Also read SRFTI Kolkata will offer India’s first UG, PhD degrees in filmmaking

FTII: Students’ take

The protest has never been about whether every facility is required in the first week of a semester, but about whether the full ecosystem essential to professional film education will exist when academically needed, the students said in the press release.

They said that repeated assurances that certain facilities are “not needed now,” without fixed deadlines, are difficult to accept, especially after previously stated completion deadlines including December 31 were missed. Paying full fees, they said, reasonably entitles students to access a complete film-school environment over the duration of their training.

“This decision should not be seen as unconditional acceptance of the current situation. Students will verify the status of each demand… including the readiness of proposed interim facilities, rectification of faults in the CRT block, and other commitments…”, the press release read.

The students said that they expect this to be followed by a physical meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and a formal, written response addressing each demand point-by-point, with clear completion timelines issued jointly by the Vice-Chancellor and the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.