Why Are Students Of The Academy Of Theatre Arts, Mumbai University Protesting?
January 15, 2020 6:04:01 PM IST MTG editorial
Yogesh Soman, Director, Academy Of Theatre Arts, Mumbai University
On 25th November last year, students of the Academy of Theatre Arts at Mumbai University addressed a letter to the Vice Chancellor, Pro Vice Chancellor, the Registrar and to Yogesh Soman, the Director of the Academy of Theatre Arts. The students were aggrieved over the manner in which the Academy was being run by its Director.
Pratik Sharma, a first-year Masters student at the Academy says that majority of the students have been raising their voice against the lack of infrastructure and more particularly over the mismanagement by the Director Yogesh Soman. They are also not happy that he lacks the academic stature and the qualifications to head the Academy. Among the issues cited by the students are that the Director introduced a new Diploma Course in Acting, which saw the rise of in-take in students over and above the rise in-take of students for the Masters course, which he sanctioned. The total strength of the Academy is now 135 students. Students feel that the Academy in its present form has simply no capacity to handle these numbers and this greatly affects the overall training of the students.
They have also pointed out that the Director is not suitably qualified and is dismissive of theory. He has gone on to change the assessment pattern by which 70 marks have been reserved for practical training and only 30 marks for theory. Earlier it was 60:40. In a joint meeting held with the Vice Chancellor earlier, the students say that the Director has gone on record to be pejorative in his language about theory and about the course design at other premier theatre training schools such as the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi and the Lalit Kala Kendra at Pune University. This attitude, the students feel do not befit the head of an Academy, and moreover raises questions of the Director's competence.
On 13th January 2020, things came to a head. The Director has been asked to go on forced leave and an inquiry committee has been set up to look into the students’ claims and grievances. The students say they will continue their protests till their demands are met. These demands include the resignation of Yogesh Soman, the current director who must be replaced by a visionary head, a well-known and respected theatre person with the necessary qualifications; to be given the resources and facilities promised in the Prospectus such as competent visiting faculty, and to be compensated for their loss of time and money.
