Students who did not to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year, can still secure admissions for AYUSH courses such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Sidda and Homeopathy, following a Karnataka high court order.
“After completion of admissions for NEET students, non-NEET students can directly go to colleges and get admissions,” said an official of Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA), the government body that conducts the seat selection process.
According to a notification from union ministry of AYUSH and the state department of health and family welfare, NEET was mandatory for admissions to AYUSH courses. However, following complaints from college managements that they were unable to fill seats for these courses with just NEET-qualified candidates, the Karnataka high court passed an order allowing even non-NEET students to take admissions this year.
According to KEA, 1,577 government quota seats have already been filled. However, of the 894 private quota seats in private colleges, only 70 seats have found takers so far. The high court directed colleges to complete admissions by October 31.