NEET, NEET PG 2024 Counselling schedules not yet notified by MCC: Health Ministry

New Delhi: Speaking on the NEET and NEET PG counselling schedules, the Health Ministry has recently clarified that the same have not been notified yet by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC).

The counselling schedule for NEET UG and PG courses for the year 2024 has not yet been notified by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC)," stated the Union Health ministry, quotes PTI

The counselling schedule for NEET UG and PG is announced by MCC, under the Directorate General of Health Services, on its website on the basis of the completion of the exam process and the finalisation of the seat matrix by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the counselling for UG seats commenced on 19/1/2022, 11/10/2022 and 20/7/2023 respectively, the ministry said in a statement.

For the year 2024, NMC has communicated its schedule for finalisation of the seat matrix for UG and PG seats in the last week of June indicating that it will finalise the UG seat matrix by the third week of July and PG seat matrix by mid-August.

The MCC will accordingly notify the counselling schedule.

“Therefore, it is clarified that MCC has not yet notified the counselling schedule for the year 2024,” the ministry said in the backdrop of reports claiming that the counselling for NEET-UG has been put off.

Amid growing clamour for cancellation of the controversy-ridden National Eligibility-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 National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the National Eligibility-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (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 malpractices ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation in the test held on May 5.

This came to light after around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.

Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that multiple pleas were filed in this connection before the Supreme Court and High Courts. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

Meanwhile, during the case proceedings, NTA earlier decided to withdraw the grace marks awarded to 1563 candidates and hold an optional retest for those candidates. Those who did not opt for the retest were allowed to retain their original marks, without the grace marks.