Puducherry, July 26 (IANS) In a significant departure from previous years, the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) of the Union Territory of Puducherry will conduct counselling for both NEET and non-NEET courses simultaneously, starting in the first week of August.

The move comes in response to increasing pressure to meet the August 14 admission deadline mandated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for engineering and allied programmes.

Students and parents have expressed concern over the delay in the counselling schedule, prompting CENTAC to streamline the process this year.

CENTAC convenor Cheryl Shivan said, "CENTAC is currently awaiting a government notification on the proposed 10 per cent reservation for government school students in non-NEET courses."

While the reservation is already in place for MBBS and other NEET-based programmes, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy had announced in the Legislative Assembly that it would be extended to non-NEET courses as well.

Sources said the proposal is currently being approved by the Cabinet.

The Chief Minister and several ministers have already signed the file, and the remaining approvals are expected soon.

The final clearance from Lt. Governor K. Kailashnathan will be issued via the e-office system, ensuring no delay due to his physical absence.

Once the notification is released, the seat matrix for non-NEET courses will be finalised, and the admission process will begin.

"Given the tight timeline, we will conduct engineering counselling alongside NEET admissions this year," Shivan confirmed.

Traditionally, non-NEET counselling would begin only after MBBS admissions to avoid overlapping and multiple rounds of sliding. However, the time constraints have necessitated a concurrent schedule.

The seat matrix for NEET courses is currently being prepared, and the draft merit list will be published on the CENTAC website on August 1.

Candidates will have two to three days to raise objections before the final merit list is released. As for non-NEET courses, the merit list is already ready, but the final seat matrix hinges on the government's decision on the 10 per cent quota.

"To save time, we have developed multiple versions of the seat matrix - including options for students who studied in government schools from Classes 1 to 12 or Classes 6 to 9," Shivan added.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)