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Pune’s FTII admits error in merit list, offers apology to students
According to the institute, a detailed review of the first merit list, published on October 17, 2025, revealed certain errors in the tabulation of marks
A day after the Film and Television Institute of India Students’ Association (FTIISA) alleged irregularities in the admission process, FTII Pune on Monday issued an official statement acknowledging ‘calculation-related discrepancies’ in its 2024–25 entrance exam merit list and apologised to students for the confusion caused.
According to the institute, a detailed review of the first merit list, published on October 17, 2025, revealed certain errors in the tabulation of marks.
“Upon comprehensive verification of the merit lists, certain calculation-related discrepancies were detected. The decision was taken to revise the list after making necessary corrections,” the statement said.
FTII clarified that the decision was made in consultation with its governing bodies to ensure fairness and transparency. Importantly, the institute confirmed that no candidate who was already offered admission has lost their seat. Instead, additional candidates who were previously left out due to technical errors have now been accommodated, without altering the total number of seats for future admission cycles.
“All originally selected candidates in the earlier published merit lists remain present in the revised lists,” FTII stated, adding that some courses saw new additions following the corrections. “This revision has led to changes in the relative merit positions of some candidates. The corrections ensure that the results now fully reflect verified and accurate assessment data,” it said.
The revised merit lists, along with detailed marks of all candidates, were published on October 24, 2025.
Addressing concerns about reservation implementation, the institute maintained that all Government of India reservation norms have been followed in full. To promote transparency, FTII said it has granted students access to examination and tabulation records for every course, allowing them to verify marks and category allocations themselves. “The Vice-Chancellor met faculty and students and briefed them about the entire episode,” the statement added.
Acknowledging the anxiety among aspirants, FTII expressed regret over the confusion and inconvenience caused. “FTII acknowledges the efforts and aspirations of candidates and deeply regrets the confusion,” it said.
The clarification came a day after FTIISA accused the administration of irregularities in evaluation, seat allocation, and reservation policy. In its statement on October 26, the students’ body claimed that the number of seats in the MFA (Screen Acting) course had increased from 16 to 23 after a “clerical error,” altering the reservation distribution. It also objected to the “freezing” of reserved categories at the first selection stage and demanded that the admission process be suspended until the issues were resolved.
