New Delhi: Counselling for NEET-UG 2024 is expected to start by the end of this month, PTI reported quoting official sources.
Initially, the counselling was anticipated to begin in the first week of July, but no date or schedule has been announced yet. The delay is due to the ongoing process of issuing permission letters to some medical colleges and the addition of new seats.
“The date of counselling will be announced once the process is complete to ensure that the new colleges’ seats are included in the first round,” an official source told PTI. They indicated that the counselling might begin later this month.
Amid calls for the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 due to alleged malpractice, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court on Friday that cancelling the test without evidence of a significant confidentiality breach would be counterproductive and could harm many honest candidates. Last month, the Supreme Court refused to delay the counselling process, hearing a petition to pause it for two days.
The NTA, which conducts NEET-UG for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses, along with the Union education ministry, have faced media scrutiny and protests over alleged large-scale malpractice, including question paper leaks and impersonation, in the May 5 exam.
In response to the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and the PhD entrance NET, the Centre removed Subodh Singh as NTA director general and established a high-level panel led by former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent and fair conduct of exams through the agency.
While NEET-UG faces scrutiny over various irregularities, the UGC-NET was cancelled after the education ministry received information that the exam’s integrity was compromised. Both matters are currently under investigation by the CBI.
Additionally, the CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG exams were pre-emptively cancelled, with fresh dates announced.
