The Wrap: NEET PG 2023 becomes pointless; NTA declares JEE Main, NEET UG, CUET 2024 dates

Latest Education News: On March 5, over 2 lakh doctors wrote the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG 2023) for admission into postgraduate programmes in medicine. Turns out, they need not have bothered. Six months later, the health ministry, and the regulators and exam bodies under it, turned the exam into just a formality.

Dropping even the pretence of caring for ‘merit’, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS or NBE) dropped the qualifying cut-off percentile to zero. This come-one-come-all gesture was in response to increasing demands for reducing cut-offs as swathes of postgraduate seats remained vacant. But as many doctors, students and policy-makers noted, the seats were going vacant due to the astronomical fees charged by private institutions and it’s them that this total abandoning of ‘merit’ benefits most. This also required reopening of round-3 counselling.

Surprisingly, the critics of the policy included former president of the Indian Medical Association, Dr. JA Jayalal who stated that all the vacant seats should have been converted into government seats and NEET PG counselling held on that basis. Tamil Nadu’s lawmakers felt their opposition to the centralised exams was vindicated. The DMK’s Udhay Stalin wrote on X (previously, Twitter): “The DMK has always said that NEET was imposed by the union government only to benefit the private coaching centres and private medical colleges. Today, we have been proven right.” The state has ferociously opposed NEET – both UG and PG – over the years.

The notification of @MoHFW_INDIA reducing the NEET PG qualifying percentile to zero shows the true ‘standard’ of the entrance test.

The DMK has always said that NEET was imposed by the union government only to benefit the private coaching centres and private medical colleges.… pic.twitter.com/AtJ3koh6hk

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 20, 2023

In other education news,, the National Testing Agency announced the calendar for the most high-stakes undergraduate admission tests in the country including the JEE Main 2024 exam date for engineering; NEET 2024 exam date for medicine and CUET exam date 2024 for colleges affiliated to central universities and others. They will take place over January, April and May. In addition, the NTA also announced dates for the teaching and research eligibility test, UGC NET December 2023 schedule.

Delhi University had its first students’ union poll since 2019. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad won three seats in the central panel and the Congress-linked National Students Union of India (NSUI) won one in DUSU elections 2023.

What’s scheduled for next week? Our calendar alert – ‘Heads-up’ – is on Instagram. Follow here to stay updated!

Here’s what else happened in education over the week.

Policy: Reservation in MP medical colleges; Karnataka board exams; UGC warning

• Karnataka scraps the idea of board exams for Classes 5, 8, 9 and 11.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur director, Abhay Karandikar is appointed secretary of the department of science and technology (DST).
• The National Medical Commission is recognised by the World Federation for Medical Education which implies that Indian medical graduates can appear for the licentiate exam in the US. The NMC also gets an officiating chairman in Medical Assessment and Rating Board’s (MARB) president BN Gangadhar.
• Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan, also the home of Visva Bharati University, is added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• 43 lakh children attending early childhood centres or anganwadis identified as obese or overweight.
• Madhya Pradesh will reserve 5% medical seats in its colleges for students from government schools.
• Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) manifesto for the Madhya Pradesh state elections promises fee education and regularisation of teachers.
• Bihar Cabinet cleares recruitment of 69,000 school teachers.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) issues its annual warning on which open and distance learning programmes are legitimate and which ones are not.
• Himachal Pradesh government to bring a bill to regulate VC appointments in state universities.
• 25 schools in Assam have zero enrolment; those with very low numbers will be closed, said education minister Ranoj Pegu.
• Pondicherry administration will pay for government school students getting into medical colleges.

?BREAKING!

New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Santiniketan, #India ??. Congratulations! ??

➡️ https://t.co/69Xvi4BtYv #45WHC pic.twitter.com/6RAVmNGXXq

— UNESCO ?️ #Education #Sciences #Culture ?? (@UNESCO) September 17, 2023

College Admissions: CAT 2023, GATE 2024 get record applications; CLAT and regional languages

• The Common Admission Test for MBA admissions, CAT 2023 has had the highest number of registrations ever, 3.3 lakh.
• Delhi University’s special spot admission round of counselling began. It has also introduced MA in Hindu Studies and other programmes for which registration is open till September 30.
• The Delhi High Court allowed DU to admit students to five-year LLB programme through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT 2023).
• The NTA told Delhi High Court that it can conduct CLAT in regional languages.
• The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE 2024) has seen 25% more registrations this year than the previous one.
• Last date to register for admission in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) extended to September 30.

College Education News: AMU's maths department; JNU's woes; fake MBBS course permit

• Aligarh Muslim University’s (AMU) mathematics department ranked highest in India by a US ranking agency.
• Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) releases The State of the University report flagging, among other issues, the drop in funds, the chaotic admission system, confused academic calendar and drop in students in research.
• The National Medical Commission clarifies that it has not issued any permission letter for MBBS course to GR Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Karnataka.
• The Punjab Government orders Desh Bhagat University (DBU) to pay Rs 10 lakh to each student affected by the transfer to nursing colleges without relevant permits.
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sirmaur and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bilarpur will start a centre for healthcare management that will promote research in the field and offer courses.
• IIT Kanpur will host a two-week Python training course from December 2. It launches new eMasters programmes.
• DU will start joint and dual-degree programmes. It invites applications for the Vice-Chancellor’s Internship Scheme.
• National Institute of Technologly (NIT) Silchar students have been on protest since the alleged suicide of a third-year student. A hunger strike landed 10 in hospital.
• S Indu has been appointed VC of Delhi Technological University.
• JAIN Online introduces an MBA in International Finance.
• IIT Delhi and Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi launch a medical cobotics centre.

School Education News: NMMS scholarship; Kerala SSLC, HSC exam dates

• Registration deadlines for NMMS scholarship extended by several states including Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Kerala SSLC and HSC exams (Classes 10 and 12) will be held in March, 2024. The Kerala board announces the dates.
• Registration for lateral entry in Classes 9 and 11 of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas starts.
• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) opens applications for the Single Girl Child Scholarship.
• Odisha’s school teachers will demonstrate outside the state assembly on September 26. They have demanded an end to contractual appointments.

Study Abroad: Study in Canada

• Despite the embittered relations between India and Canada and the ministry of external affairs’ travel advisory, Indian students are not worried about studying in Canada.