Supreme Court Refuses NEET UG Delay Amidst Counselling Schedule Uncertainty

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has yet to announce the 2024 NEET UG and PG counselling schedule. The Supreme Court has also declined to delay NEET UG counselling, defending the integrity of the exam. A high-level committee will ensure transparency and smooth conduct of future exams.

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has yet to release the counselling schedule for NEET UG and PG courses for 2024. The schedule usually depends on the finalization of the seat matrix by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the completion of the exam process. In previous years, counselling commenced on January 19, 2022, October 11, 2022, and July 20, 2023, respectively, according to a press release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

For 2024, NMC will finalize the UG seat matrix by the third week of July and PG seat matrix by mid-August. MCC will notify the counselling schedule accordingly. The ministry has confirmed that no schedule has been announced yet.

The development comes as the Supreme Court refused to delay the NEET UG counselling slated to begin on July 6, citing the absence of any substantial proof of widespread confidentiality breaches and potential negative impact on honest candidates. The Central government argued against scrapping the exam held on May 5, saying it would jeopardize candidates' futures.

The Supreme Court will hear further petitions concerning the NEET-UG 2024 results on July 8. The Ministry emphasised that calls for exam cancellation and re-test based on speculation should be dismissed.

A high-level committee has been established to guarantee effective, transparent examination processes by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

(With inputs from agencies.)