Following an interim High Court order on admissions to Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) courses, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) decided that students who have not qualified in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) can seek admission.
A government order issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare earlier had stated that only candidates qualified in NEET could be admitted to AYUSH courses. The interim order was passed after some colleges approached the court and stated that there were insufficient NEET qualified candidates as there was confusion regarding the qualifying exam for AYUSH initially.
A KEA official said they conducted the second extended round for 40% of the seats in private colleges and all seats in government colleges. This was applicable only for eligible NEET candidates. After this round is completed, colleges can fill seats accordingly. “The first preference has to be students who are eligible in NEET. If seats remain, they can be allotted to candidates who did not qualify in NEET but took the test. If more seats remain, these can be allotted to students who did not appear for NEET but have academic eligibility to participate,” an official said. The HC stated that all the admissions in AYUSH colleges should be completed by October 31.
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According to statistics provided by KEA, all the 1,577 government quota AYUSH seats have been filled, while 70 of the total 894 private quota seats in private colleges have been filled.
The move has received a mixed response from the colleges, students and faculty members.