NEET-UG counselling likely to begin at month end
New Delhi (PTI): Counselling for NEET-UG, 2024, is expected to start by the end of this month, official sources said.
The counselling session was likely to begin in the first week of July. However, the counselling authorities had not notified any date or schedule.
The sources said 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.
They said the counselling process might begin later this month.
Amid growing clamour for cancellation of the controversy-ridden National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024, over alleged malpractice, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court on Friday 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 MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses, and the Union education ministry have 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 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 -- CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG -- were cancelled as a preemptive step. Fresh dates for both have been announced.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
