India - Emerging media education hub
Radio Singapore International - Singapore
Often I meet with young students desirous of making a career
in the broadcast television industry. The majority of them are
drawn by the glamour of the media and entertainment world. And
why not? Glamour indeed is an important factor closely
associated with the media and entertainment industry. However,
as one goes beyond the obvious, it is clear that the media
sector offers excellent career opportunities in terms of
exciting and high profile jobs, good pay packages, and above
all, outstanding growth prospects.
The Indian media industry is among the fastest growing sectors
in the country. In 1991 India had only a single state owned
television network Doordarshan. Today there are over 300
national, regional and local channels being beamed across the
country. Over the last two years alone, close to a dozen new
TV channels have been launched– many of them news channels.
And it appears that the insatiable public demand for more
television channels is far from over!
Infact no other media market in the world is experiencing the
kind of growth as being witnessed in India. Television in
India reaches about 100 million Indian households. This makes
India the third largest television market in the world behind
only China and the USA.
In sheer revenue size, the Indian media industry in 2003-2004
was worth about US$ 4.5 billion. By 2008 it is expected to
more than double at close to US$ 10 billion! The industry
employs an estimated 6 million people. And some experts feel
that during this decade another million people will get jobs
in this sector.
But the moot question is - are there enough qualified and
trained professionals to meet the growing requirements of the
Indian television industry? What is the status of media
education in the country?
While India has a rich history of education for the print
media and mass communication, institutes for broadcast
television have lagged behind. Prior to the satellite
television boom in the early 1990’s, there was limited demand
for trained television professionals. As a result, there were
only a handful of education institutes. The most prominent
ones were the Film and Television Institute of India or FTII
at Pune in Western India, the Indian Institute of Mass
Communication or IIMC and the institute at the Jamia
University–both in Delhi.
With the boom in satellite TV channels and the consequent
sudden demand for trained professionals, a host of television
training institutes mushroomed throughout the last decade. The
vast majority of these were often small time operations with
inadequate infrastructure, lacking proper technical facilities
and above all offering a curriculum that was not in sync with
industry requirements.
But things have changed over the last few years. Today there
are quality media institutes for broadcast television that
have consciously invested in creating international standards
infrastructure, technical facilities, and above all, industry
relevant curriculum. To meet global standards some of the
newer media institutes have also collaborated with
international universities and media organizations. Some
institutes also tend to integrate real time industry exposure
into the curriculum design itself. This ensures better
learning for the student and also brings about good
performance on the job without a long learning curve.
The main factor that has contributed in improving the media
education landscape includes a more demanding industry that
does not easily hire people who have not been properly
trained.
These developments bode well for the media industry in general
and media education sector in particular. While India is
already an attractive education destination for many foreign
students, the country now appears poised to emerge as a
credible hub for media education. And what makes India an
exciting media education destination is the fact that the
media industry here is truly world class, growing at a
phenomenal rate and an excellent model to study especially for
other countries in South and South East Asia.
Equally important is the cost factor. Students from South Asia
may find studying a media course in Australia, the UK or USA
almost prohibitive in terms of course fees, travel and
accommodation expenses. In comparison, the total cost of doing
a media course in India is just a fraction of what it would
cost elsewhere. Moreover, the similarity of
socio-economic-political and cultural conditions, makes the
study in India far more relevant to local needs.
Given all this, it would not be surprising to find students
from South and South East Asia traveling to India to pursue
education programmes in broadcast television. By the end of
this decade India may well emerge as a credible regional media
education hub. |
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