According to official sources, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is expected to begin by the end of this month, that is, July. This was stated in a report by PTI.
The counselling session was likely to begin in the first week of July. However, the counselling session was likely to begin in the first week of July.
According to the sources, the process of issuing permission letters to some medical colleges was still underway and additional seats were likely to be added.
"The date of counselling will be announced once the exercise gets over to ensure seats of the new colleges can be taken up in the first round itself," an official source said.
Amid growing clamour for cancellation of the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024 over alleged malpractice, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court, yesterday, Friday, July 5, that scrapping it without any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality would be counterproductive as it could "seriously jeopardise" lakhs of honest candidates.
The apex court last month refused to defer the counselling process. It was hearing a petition seeking a direction to pause the process for two days.
The NTA, which conducts NEET-UG for admissions to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) and other related courses, and the Union Education Ministry has been at the centre of media debates and protests by students and political parties over alleged large-scale malpractice ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation — in the test held on May 5.
In the line of fire over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and PhD entrance National Eligibility Test (NET), the Centre removed Subodh Singh as the NTA Director General and notified a high-level panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief R Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the agency.
While NEET-UG is under the scanner over several irregularities, the University Grants Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) was cancelled after the Education Ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam was compromised.
Both matters are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Two other exams — Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-UGC NET and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Postgraduate (NEET-PG) — were cancelled as a preemptive step.
New dates for both have been announced.
