Re-NEET may impact TNEA 2026 counselling timeline, says officials

With the National Testing Agency scheduled to conduct the NEET exam on June 21, the engineering admission counselling schedule in Tamil Nadu is expected to face delays. Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2026 (TNEA 2026) is a fully digital process encompassing online registration, fee payment, choice filling, seat allotment, and final confirmation.

The Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) under the Higher Education Department has started receiving applications from May 3 and concluded on June 5. According to a senior official from DOTE, though over 3.02 lakh students have enrolled, as many as 2,45,220 have uploaded their certificates. As the NEET re-exam is scheduled to be held on June 21, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is yet to approve the engineering counselling schedule. "However, the certificate verification has begun," he said, adding "the rank list will be published on June 29 as per schedule."

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The official said that counselling should be held after the completion of certificate verification. Higher Education Minister P Viswanathan told mediapersons that a decision on whether to postpone the engineering counselling would be taken in a day or two. The minister said that he would consult with the department secretary before announcing the revised engineering counselling schedule shortly.