FTII students’ body seeks suspension of admission process over merit list discrepancies

The Film and Television Institute of India Students’ Association (FTIISA) has urged the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to suspend the ongoing admission process for the next academic year. The association has cited irregularities in the revised merit list issued on October 24.

According to Hindustan Times, the controversy began after a reserved category candidate raised objections to the merit list issued on October 17. Following the complaint, the institute released a revised list on October 24, stating that a review had found “calculation-related discrepancies” in the earlier version.

The corrected list retained the names of previously selected candidates and added seven new names as a “one-time measure.” Marks of all selected candidates were also made public.

FTIISA questioned the changes made in the revised merit list and alleged lapses in the evaluation and reservation implementation process. The association also objected to the increase in seats for the MFA (Screen Acting) course from 16 to 23, which the institute attributed to a “clerical error.”

Revised list alters reservation ratio beyond 50% cap

The revised merit list changed the reservation distribution to 30% for Other Backward Class–Non Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL), 17.39% for Economically Weaker Section (EWS), 8.7% for Scheduled Caste (SC), 4.35% for Scheduled Tribe (ST), and 39.17% for the General category. According to Hindustan Times , this exceeds the 50% reservation limit set by the Supreme Court’s 2021 order for educational institutions in Maharashtra.

A senior FTII official, quoted by Hindustan Times , said that some marks from the acting section were missing in the initial evaluation, leading to five additional candidates being found eligible. “The Governing Council advised us to resolve the issue with minimum disruption. Therefore, we retained the earlier selections and added the missed eligible candidates,” the official said.

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Students seek review of admission, reservation rules

FTIISA has demanded that the institute halt the admission process, publish stage-wise marks, and review the reservation framework. It has also sought inclusion of student and SC/ST cell representatives in the reform committee and the FTII Executive Council.

The association said the entrance examination lacks a consistent format and schedule, with new rules introduced every year without prior notice. This year’s two-stage exam — comprising objective and descriptive papers in Stage 1 and a mixed-format Stage 2 with 70% weightage — was held offline for the first time since 2019.

The students’ association will meet the FTII director on Monday to submit its complaints regarding the admission process.