IIFT’s ‘Admin errors’ leave students in lurch

“Administrative errors” in the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has left many admission-seekers in the lurch. Seventeen students who had taken the entrance test to the institute’s MBA (International Business) programme were put on hold due to this error. Also, the admission of four students was nullified due to a miscalculation of rank.

“Administrative errors” in the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has left many admission-seekers in the lurch. Seventeen students who had taken the entrance test to the institute’s MBA (International Business) programme were put on hold due to this error. Also, the admission of four students was nullified due to a miscalculation of rank.

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“I had taken admission on April 5 and also paid the fees. On May 13, the institute sent me an email, which said that they had cancelled my admission because my rank had been wrongly calculated,” said Namrata Panwar.

Following the cancellation, IIFT returned the fee paid by these students. However, the four students — Namrata Panwar, Ankita Aggarwal (name changed), Swati Pasricha and Tarun Madan — filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, challenging the IIFT’s decision.

While the court held that all four students should be granted admission in IIFT-Kolkata, Panwar and Aggarwal have decided to renounce the offer. The case was finally dismissed on July 19. “IIFT-Kolkata does not compare to IIFT-Delhi in any way. I gave up other offers once I paid my fees here. This error will waste my one whole year,” said Ankita Aggarwal.

The institute has however, passed off the situation as a ‘human error’. “Such mistakes can happen. These students should have tried elsewhere because admission processes go on even after May. They were offered the Kolkata campus, but two of them decided not to take it. That is not our fault,” said KT Chacko, Director, IIFT.