Students accuse FTII of not filling up reserved seats, stage protest

PUNE: A student association on Friday alleged that the seats reserved for OBC, SC and ST categories were not filled up while admitting students to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) for the academic year 2021.

Members of the Students Association of FTII also staged a protest on campus against the "gross mockery of reservation" at the country's premier film and television training institute. The FTII published its final merit list for the academic year 2021 on July 26, 2022, the association said in a release. The admission process took place after a year's delay, said a student.

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"Many seats, as well as waitlist positions in the OBC, SC and ST categories, have not been filled, citing reasons of ineligibility," the association alleged. Students staged protests at the gate of FTII by holding placards with messages such as "Inequality in Admission", "Resist Attack on Reservation", "Discrimination" and "Don't Subvert Reservation".

FTII authorities told the association that many candidates in the reserved category did not secure the cut-off percentage, it claimed. The FTII director's office did not respond to a request for reaction to the allegations.