Education Views | Insightful Perspectives and Analysis - Edinbox

The film business has been rough and sometimes cruel, but what about the schools leading up to it? Attending film school and college is supposed to get students ready for lucrative careers in the business, but in most cases, it does not end that way. Unpaid internships, unrealistic ideals, and lack of mentorship are a few of the traps most students fall into, and it is hard for them to succeed.

Unpaid internships are so common practice in the film industry that even film schools advise students to do them in order to gain some experience. But this is a barrier to entry for students who simply do not have the means to work for nothing. Already, the majority of students are barely managing as it is, and unpaid internships are a huge burden. This can narrow the student pool who are capable of operating within the sector and contribute to a lack of disadvantaged representation.

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There is also an earnest desire from these film schools to present professional-standard work, which puts unreasonable standards on the students. At certain times, there is the necessity for the students to come up with quality motion pictures, musical videos, or other work without sufficient resources and instructions. The burnout as well as tension may prove bad for the well-being of students both physically as well as psychologically.

Film schools place greater emphasis on technical education but do not offer students the kind of guidance and counseling necessary to succeed in the business. Others cannot be incorporated into production, and without mentorship, they are lost and lack direction when it comes to their careers. Without mentoring, students also can't deal with failure and mistakes, which are part of the creative process.

The flip side of film studies comes at the expense of human resources which cannot be ignored. Most students can't balance their creative ambitions against the cost constraints of aspiring to become the career in cinema. The stress of having to deliver quality output, and shortage of infrastructure and facilities, can result in burnout, stress, and disappointment.

Film schools and universities must analyze their own activities thoroughly and make a deliberate decision to rectify the problem of unpaid internships, unrealistic targets, and lack of advisement. This is done by providing interns with fair wages, advisement and guidance, and supporting more positive and open learning cultures. Thus, schools of film can make sure that the students end up being successful in the field and create a more balanced and sustainable future for professionals in the industry.

The Delhi High Court directed the Jawaharlal Nehru University to allow nine students rusticated on a sexual harassment complaint to write their exams from Wednesday.

Justice Vikas Mahajan instructed Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) not to take coercive actions to remove the students from their hostels until May 28, when the case would again be heard.

"Considering in view the prayer of the petitioners' counsel, more particularly on the ground that there is denial of principles of natural justice, the respondent university is hereby ordered to allow the petitioners to appear for their examination, until further date of hearing and no coercive action will be taken against them to leave their hostel," the court observed on May 13.

JNU placed independent orders on the students on May 5, rusticating them for two semesters and declared them out of bounds on the varsity campus from now on.

The students have approached the setting aside of university order and proceedings arising out of its orders.

Student union representative Advocate Kumar Piyush Pushkar said before the order, an investigation was initiated by the university but the petitioners were denied a chance to cross-examine witnesses.

The JNU order was untenable as it was passed in defiance of the canons of natural justice, he said.

The court issued notice to JNU on the petition and asked it to reply within a week.

The students' plea was that the exams would start from May 14 or within two days but the rustication order barred them from appearing for it.

The court made it clear through its interim order that the interim relief would not have any special equities in favor of the petitioners and its orders were conditional upon the outcome of the case.

Forty seven female students of Centre for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS) approached JNU's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) with their complaint of sexual violence and sexual harassment on them on the evening of the CSSS freshers' party at the university convention center on 22 October 2024.

The petitioners complained that the vice-chancellor summoned them to her office on October 25, 2024 and without conducting an inquiry or forming a committee, illegally rusticated them for two semesters and banned them from the campus for one year.

The high court, however, suspended the October 25 order of the university restraining the authorities from evicting the petitioners from their hostel.

The petitioners further added that in April the petitioners were issued a showcause notice and the report of inquiry questioning why disciplinary action could not be initiated against them after which the petitioners' replies were placed before the chief proctor.

But, without being permitted to cross examine the witnesses, they were rusticated for two semesters for the second time and fined Rs 10,000 on May 5, the plea said.

The once-revered FIITJEE, a premier coaching institute for IIT-JEE aspirants, is now facing a severe crisis—centre closures, unpaid salaries, and mounting legal troubles have left students, parents, and staff in distress. With police cases filed in multiple cities, mass teacher resignations, and financial instability, the future of thousands of students hangs in the balance.

A Dream Turned Nightmare for Students and Parents

Monika Agarwal* took a loan to pay ₹3.45 lakh for her son’s two-year FIITJEE programme in Ghaziabad. “We trusted their reputation, but now we feel cheated,” she says. Within months, teachers started quitting, classes became erratic, and the centre eventually shut down. Her son, now left without proper guidance, struggles to cope.

Gowri Bhadauria*, who narrowly missed the IIT-JEE cutoff this year, blames FIITJEE’s decline for her setback. “The centre became a ghost of its former self—no mentoring, no proper classes. We ended up studying on our own,” she recalls. “Choosing FIITJEE was the biggest mistake of my life.”

In Chennai, Bharadwaj Narayanan* paid ₹2.7 lakh for his son’s coaching, only to see the Velachery centre shut abruptly. FIITJEE shifted students to online classes, but even those teachers are now resigning. “We were promised continuity, but everything collapsed,” he says.

Teachers Unpaid, Yet Loyal Until the End

Gaurav Shrivastav from Jhansi, a Chemistry teacher at FIITJEE Ghaziabad, hasn’t received ₹11.73 lakh in pending salaries. “Some months, I got only 27% of my pay. I stayed for my students, but finally had to leave,” he shares. Like many others, he now works elsewhere but still mourns FIITJEE’s downfall.

Another senior teacher, who worked for over five years, reveals that financial troubles began as early as 2017. Salary cuts, unpaid dues, and mismanagement by franchise partners led to a slow decline. “The pandemic worsened it—low admissions, irresponsible partners, and no accountability,” he says.

Legal Troubles Mount as FIITJEE Remains Silent

With police cases in Delhi, Chandigarh, and Chennai, FIITJEE’s management is under scrutiny for alleged cheating and breach of trust. Yet, the institute has stayed silent, offering temporary fixes like online classes—only for those to fail as well.

Parents, desperate for justice, are filing complaints and legal notices. Some have shifted their children to other institutes, but many, already burdened with loans, have no choice but to let their kids prepare alone.

What Went Wrong?

Former staff point to multiple reasons—cash crunch, bad investments, franchise mismanagement, and a shift in business models. Despite Chairman Dinesh Kumar Goel’s push for a franchise system, the lack of transparency has deepened the crisis.

What’s Next?

With centres shutting down, teachers resigning, and no clarity from FIITJEE, students and parents are left in the lurch. Will the institute recover, or is this the end of an era?

For now, the dreams of thousands of IIT aspirants remain uncertain.

Against the current tense situation with Pakistan during Operation Sindood, the Delhi University has resolved to extend full support and cooperation to the Government of India.

The motion was moved unanimously on Saturday in a meeting of the Academic Council (AC), which was chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh.

During Zero Hour, the Vice Chancellor urged college principals to accord highest priority to appointment of permanent teachers as compared to guest teachers by promptly advertizing available vacancies. He urged that every single college must move early on vacancies now available or likely to be available during the period of retirements and should join the recruitment process at least once or twice annually.

Responding to a question on initiation of the appointment procedure in 12 colleges of Delhi Government, he explained that negotiation is underway and a favorable response is expected in the near future. Registrar Dr. Vikas Gupta put the minutes of the previous AC meeting on December 27 before the house for approval and presented an 'action taken report' on previous decisions.

The Academic Council also approved syllabi of various faculties according to UGCF 2022, as recommended by the Standing Committee on academic affairs. Also approved was the proposal to translate Persian, Arabic, and Urdu writings in the syllabus into English.

The council also approved introducing new Skill Enhancement Courses (SEC) under UGCF 2022. They are Robotics & Automation and Introduction to IoT using Arduino under Electronics category; Low-Code/No-Code Development under Computer Science category; and Forensic Analysis of Biological Evidence, Forensic Toxicology, Questioned Document Examination, and Injury & Death under Life Sciences subdomain under Biomedical Sciences.

Besides, the council also approved a proposal from the Department of Distance and Continuing Education to introduce certificate-level courses in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at CISBC under the Open Learning Development Centre from the academic year 2024–25. It also approved introducing Certificate/Diploma/Advanced Diploma courses in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean from the session 2025–26 under SOL, and an Advanced Diploma (JP-3) of one-year duration in Japanese at Ramjas College.

As Andhra Pradesh gets set for a new batch of DSC (District Selection Committee) postings, a wave of teacher transfers is engulfing Prakasam district—over 3,000 teachers are being transferred, several of whom have taught nearly a decade of children in the same school. At first glance, this juggling appears purely bureaucratic. But to those in the classrooms—and to the students who depend on them—it's a shift deserving a second look.

3,175 teachers who have served eight years in the same schools and 20 Grade-2 Head Masters who've served five years have been assigned compulsory transfer under the state's new school education policy. The purpose is clear: check stagnation, encourage dynamic teaching, and distribute talent uniformly in the district.

Though the motivation is to be appreciated, the timing and scale of the change raise concerns. Such a large movement of teachers to DSC recruitments near DSC appointment timelines can cause transient inconvenience, especially in rural institutions where the fresh intake might be delayed or reduced. Board examination-bound students or students being advanced due to pandemic recovery learning loss will abruptly be left with new faces as instructors during the course of their study cycle.

But Prakasam district's District Educational Officer, A. Kiran Kumar, is taking it step by step. With eight mandal-level teams checking the vacancies on the ground, and reviews to be conducted for the second time as well, things can be expected to go off without a hitch. Done properly, it can re-scale the staffing back to square one on a rational and equitable basis.

But behind every transfer list is a story—a teacher venturing out of his or her comfort zone, a student adjusting to a new face. The real test of this policy will be in how compassionately and effectively it balances reform with the emotional and academic continuity of the classroom.

Change is necessary—but only if it's done right.

In another Centre-Kerala government face-off location, the Union government has reportedly refused travel clearance to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, who was to deliver a speech at Johns Hopkins University, one of the world's most renowned universities, in the US. The move has sparked a political row, and political abuse of travel clearances and federal coordination are in danger.

Veena George, the minister's office stated, was approached by Johns Hopkins University — a top institution to collaborate with global public health — and was invited to deliver an address at an international event as well. She requested political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs about two weeks ago, her office also added. In a shocking turn of events that caught the Kerala government off guard, however, the Centre reportedly denied her clearance three days ago when she was about to leave. The denial has triggered blistering reactions from opposition politicians and political commentators who see it as part of a sinister pattern.

The Centre has had such instances in the past when it denied foreign interaction by a state minister. It was only two months ago that the Centre had denied clearance to Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev and his delegation to visit Washington to attend the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) annual conference, where they were to deliver a presentation on Kerala's much-hyped 'Year of Enterprises' programme. While the Ministry of External Affairs was not yet making a blanket conclusion regarding the denial, the Kerala state government has called it "politiful" and "unfortunate." State government sources contend that such an event does not only enhance the reputation of Kerala in the international community but also attracts academic, health, and investment relationships which ultimately trickle down to the advantage of the state and hence the country.

The bigger question this episode raises is whether political rivalry between the Centre and opposition-governed states is increasingly spilling over into areas that cannot be partisan — i.e., discussion in academia and on international platforms.

Kerala, otherwise doing well in healthcare, particularly how it did well in keeping the Nipah virus and COVID-19 at bay, could have marketed its success story internationally. Preventing such portrayal, the earth in our perception, not just damages Kerala's reputation but also inhibits India's soft power foreign policy. Veena George, who was a journalist-turned-politician, has been Kerala's public health mission face, especially in recent years of health emergencies. Her planned visit to Johns Hopkins was an opportunity to project Kerala's decentralized model of healthcare — one that has drawn global interest. Silencing her on this forum, critics say, is an affront to India's image as a dynamic, cooperative federal republic.

Politically, the occurrence can also assist the already strained relationship between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) state government of Kerala and the Centre headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Some LDF leaders blamed the Union government for holding back state projects deliberately and depriving Kerala of international outreach possibilities for soiling the progressive image of the state.

As India is to be a world leader in diplomacy, technology, and development in the health sector, these internal contradictions convey conflicting messages to the world at large. Whether this incident is an isolated political event or a foreboding trend in Centre-state relations is something that can be evaluated in the coming months.