The Film and Television Institute of India Students' Association (FTIISA) demanded the suspension of the existing admission process for the upcoming academic year yesterday, Sunday, October 26, citing anomalies in the recently revealed merit list.

The issue began with a complaint from a reserved category candidate regarding the merit list, which was released on October 17. Following this, the institution released an updated list on October 24, citing ' in the previous list, Hindustan Times reports.

In its announcement, the institute stated that a review identified significant inaccuracies in the previous merit list, and that a corrected list was provided following verification. 

While preserving the names of previously picked candidates, the amended merit list included seven additional names as a 'one-time measure.' The amended merit list also included the scores of all selected candidates.

Following the publishing of the amended merit list, FTIISA accused the FTII administration of failing to evaluate, allocate seats, and enforce the reservation policy.

The FTIISA also questioned the sudden rise in seats in the MFA (Screen Acting) course from 16 to 23, which was supposedly caused by a 'clerical error.' 

The updated merit list changed the quota percentage to the following: 

• Other Backward Classes-Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL): 30 per cent

• Economically Weaker Sections (EWS): 17.39 per cent, 

• Scheduled Castes (SC): 8.7 per cent

• Scheduled Tribes (ST): 4.35 per cent

• General Category: 39.17 per cent 

This is despite the Supreme Court's 2021 verdict on educational institution reservation in Maharashtra limited the total percentage of seats reserved to 50 per cent.

The FTIISA urged that the institute pause the current admissions process, publish stage-by-stage results, and reconsider reservation policies. 

The association also urged that the institute include representatives from the student and SC/ST cells in the external reform committee and the FTII Executive Council to maintain transparency throughout the process.

The students' association also stated that the entrance exam lacks uniformity and transparency. 

"There is no fixed schedule or format, and new rules are introduced every year without notice," according to the association. 

This year's two-stage process, which included objective and descriptive papers in Stage 1 and a mixed-format Stage 2 with 70 per cent weightage, was held offline for the first time since 2019.