India’s leading film institutes face credibility test amid reservation row

Just months after India’s two premier film schools – the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata – were granted “deemed-to-be university” status under the UGC (University Grants Commission) Act, both institutions are facing a test of credibility.

Across both campuses in Pune and Kolkata, students are raising questions about the flawed implementation of the reservation policy, opaque administrative decisions, and questionable application of service rules.

Also read | Payal Kapadia brings ‘moment of pride’ to FTII but remains ‘accused no. 25’ in 2015 case

Even the new Film & Television Institute (FTI) in Arunachal Pradesh, administered by SRFTI, is facing allegations of administrative “neglect” and incomplete infrastructure. Together, the three institutes, all governed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), highlight persistent challenges in the functioning of the country’s publicly funded film schools.

Students allege reservation anomalies

The most recent flashpoint has been FTII Pune’s admission process for 2024-25. On October 17, the institute released its final merit list, only for students to flag anomalies. According to the FTII Students’ Association (FTIISA), a reserved-category candidate who had scored high enough to qualify under the General merit list found themselves placed on the waiting list of the unreserved category while being excluded from the reserved list altogether.

After multiple representations, the administration admitted to what it called “calculation-related discrepancies” and issued a revised merit list on October 24. The Vice-Chancellor apologised and announced that all affected candidates would be accommodated, including through supernumerary seats added on “humanitarian grounds.”

But the revised list created further issues. “Not only were new candidates added, but seat counts also changed. In the Screen Acting department, 16 seats suddenly became 23. These extra seats don’t fall under any reservation matrix. There’s no clarity about how the reservation applies to these new seats, which means the reservation policy itself becomes meaningless,” a student told The Federal.

He added that this is not a one-off issue. “The reservation policy is not very transparent. Not even the candidates can comprehend it, and this has been happening for years. The administration says it follows DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) and UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) rules, but these are employment-related documents, not education policies,” the student said.

Students challenge admission policy

A near-identical controversy has unfolded in Kolkata. The SRFTI Students’ Union has accused the administration of misapplying reservation norms during its 2025 entrance examination.

According to the union, high-scoring candidates from reserved categories were “frozen” in their respective categories and not allowed to migrate to the unreserved category despite qualifying on merit.

Also read | SRFTI sexual assault complaint: Suresh Gopi signs papers after long delay

“When reserved category candidates are ‘frozen’ in their respective categories, it prevents high-merit reserved candidates from migrating to unreserved seats. As a result, the overall count of reserved category candidates securing admission is limited to the bare minimum set by the reserved quota. This blocks fellow reserved candidates who are behind from accessing these seats. The freeze creates a bottleneck, undermining the intent of the reservation and further reducing opportunities for other reserved category candidates,” the SRFTI union said in a statement dated October 23.

Dhivahar Muthuveeran, president of the SRFTI Students’ Union, said FTII and SRFTI have the same issue – the application of DoPT rules to justify this policy.

Opaque policies fuel discontent

In a written reply to the union, the SRFTI administration cited a 1998 DoPT memorandum, which states that if any reserved candidate avails of a concession or relaxation at any stage, they cannot be considered for unreserved seats later.

“The administration is hiding behind employment rules to justify an academic process. SRFTI is now a deemed university, yet they are applying DoPT rules meant for government jobs,” said Muthuveeran.

He said the current issue was just the latest in a slew of problems. “We have a lot of issues here (at SRFTI), from sexual harassment cases to administrative apathy. But right now, the major problem is the reservation policy. It’s an urgent matter because it’s a question of fairness and social justice,” he said.

Over the past few years, all three institutions have been rocked by controversies. At SRFTI, in May 2024, students held demonstrations against poor food and water quality in hostels, faculty misconduct, and intrusive CCTV surveillance, alleging an “atmosphere of intimidation” on campus, according to reports. In September 2024, they protested the reinstatement of an official previously accused of sexual harassment, forcing the administration to revoke the reinstatement order after public outrage.

In May 2023, 43 students at FTII Pune went on an indefinite hunger strike after a classmate was removed from the programme despite completing assignments and scoring above the pass mark. The students accused the administration of showing insensitivity. The protest highlighted long-standing concerns among FTII students about opaque decision-making and the administration’s lack of accountability.

Neglect plagues film institutes

Meanwhile, the new FTI campus in Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated with much fanfare in 2024, saw prolonged protests in May this year over its alleged non-functional infrastructure, including unfinished classrooms, a lack of basic facilities, and faculty shortages, according to students.

Also read | Malayalam film industry and FTII Pune make a mark at Cannes

“In the last protest, we had demanded a CRT (classroom theatre), but it’s still incomplete. Out of two CRTs, one was made in a hurry, but it’s not 100% complete. There has been no development since then,” said Ashish Kumar, a student. He added that the campus suffers from a lack of administrative leadership.

“There is no campus director here. The Registrar does not stay on campus because he is on double duty with Doordarshan. So, there’s no senior person at the administration level. If there is a problem, it falls on the teachers to address it,” he said.

According to him, the pattern across all three film institutes is the same. “In one way or another, this is a case of neglect of these institutes at the top level, because all of them come under the I&B Ministry,” he said.

A student from FTII said the crisis at film institutes was a part of a larger crisis across all educational institutions in the country.

The Federal reached out to I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju, FTII Vice-Chancellor Dhiraj Singh, SRFTI Vice-Chancellor Samiran Datta, and FTI-AP Deputy Registrar Deepak Kumar, but did not receive a response.