Government plans curbs on film promotions and commercial events in educational institutions

The government is understood to be considering a distinction between minor events intended to encourage students’ sporting, artistic and cultural talents and large gatherings that interfere with academic activities. Photo for representational purpose only

The government is considering a ban on film promotions and other commercial activities on the premises of educational institutions following a series of incidents involving unauthorised events and alleged safety lapses.

The government is examining the activities that educational institutions can legally conduct on their campuses and those that should be prohibited. Senior officials of the Education department have been asked to prepare guidelines to regulate such activities.

The proposed guidelines are expected to restrict the use of educational institution premises for non-academic, political film promotions and unrelated commercial events. The move comes amid allegations that some private educational institutions have been using students for political and other purposes.

In recent times, some colleges not only declared a holiday to facilitate film promotion events but also recommended students to watch those films. Such practices have also drawn criticism from educationists.

The concern has been compounded by incidents in which students have lost their lives during events organised on institutional premises. In a recent incident, a stage erected for an event at an educational institution collapsed, killing a student and injuring several others.

Under the proposed framework, institutions organising large-scale academic, sports or cultural events may be required to submit advance details to local Education department officials and the police. These would include the expected number of participants, arrangements for stage construction, entry and exit points, crowd management and fire safety measures.

The government is understood to be considering a distinction between minor events intended to encourage students’ sporting, artistic and cultural talents and large gatherings that interfere with academic activities.

Officials point out that the government is keen on activities to promote arts, culture and creativity among students and has over the past three years launched several initiatives to promote skills, employment, innovation and entrepreneurship among them.. However, decision of certain educational institutions to promote particular films and even declare holidays to enable students to watch them has invited criticism from parents and educationists.