Jottings of the week: FTII fees to more gun violence

FTII: An expensive proposition 

Education in India’s private schools and colleges has long become a prohibitively expensive affair. And now the central government seems to have taken a cue from the private sector to jack up fees, leaving poor and middle class meritorious students with virtually no recourse to subsidies in higher learning. The FTII fee hike proposal is the latest case in point. The meteoric rise in course and lodging fees will ensure that those from poor economic background stay away from the institute. This is perhaps the best film school in the country, and one of the best in Asia. Its long tradition of imparting quality education and nurturing a conducive environment for unhindered exchange of ideas and opinions can be vouched for by the long list of glittering alumni, many of whom have made the country proud in international festivals. In Bollywood and regional film industries, more than a few of the most distinguished names studied in FTII, and several of them had come from humble backgrounds. The fee revision proposal that seeks a jump of 33 per cent to 600 per cent will kill the aspirations of those who, otherwise, can never dream of enrolling in a film school. The administration’s effort to fix the age limit for admission to 25, is another sore point. This will have a debilitating effect on the institute’s character, which encouraged people of various age-groups and from different vocations to pursue their dreams. The FTII, as we know it, is likely to change, and it may not be for the better. 

Let peace prevail

Finally, peace, the most elusive aspect in Afghanistan, is gradually being restored. The signing of the peace accord between President Ashraf Ghani and the notorious Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a decisive step in that direction. At this point hopes are high that this development might inspire the Taliban to come to the table to negotiate an agreement that could lead to lasting peace in the country. Hekmatyar has, of course, extracted his pound of flesh. He has been granted amnesty for past offenses. As a goodwill gesture, the Afghan government will release a few Hezb-e-Islami prisoners. It will also push for the lifting of international sanctions on Hekmatyar. The icing on the cake was the government bearing the costs of Hekmatyar’s security. In terms of the big picture — one that has a direct bearing on the lives of the Afghans — it was a small price to pay to get Hekmatyar to endorse the peace initiative. The war-ravaged country can now begin investing its energy and resources to nation-building. But the reality of a protracted armed struggle against the Taliban cannot be wished away. Consequently, the journey ahead will be fraught with uncertainties.

Fatal attraction

A senseless act of violence in South Carolina by a 14-year-old boy who killed his father at home and then ventured into a neighbourhood elementary school and fired at two students, critically injuring one of them, has once again cast the spotlight on gun control in the US. There seems to be no end to this endemic scourge as gruesome incidents of shooting have virtually become an everyday affair. In the month of September alone there have been 33 such cases across America,  claiming 38 lives. Yet the National Rifles Association (NRA) is so strong that it has withstood wave upon wave of public opinion seeking a ban on firearms. The political establishment is divided over the issue, but even in the face of stricter-gun-control demands, it has at best mouthed platitudes, and rarely showed courage to stand up to the NRA. One hopes that in the season of presidential campaigns, better sense will prevail and that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will promise to try to put an end to this love affair with guns.