8th March, 2026
Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA) has welcomed the decision of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, vide File No. Z-1011/2026/NCAHP(AHS)/FTS No. 126 dated 02.03.2026, regarding admissions to Bachelor of Physiotherapy (B.PT) and Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (B.OT) courses.
Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, PUCA, Chairman Aryans Group of Colleges Rajpura Near Chandigarh stated that a large number of students pursue paramedical and allied health sciences courses as they are unable to afford expensive medical programmes like MBBS. He said that making NEET mandatory at this stage would have created unnecessary pressure and confusion among students.
Adv Amit Sharma, Senior Vice President PUCA mentioned that in India, around 24 lakh students register for the NEET-UG exam every year, and approximately 23 lakh students actually appear for the examination. Out of these, about 13 lakh students qualify by scoring above the cutoff marks. However, despite such a large number of qualified candidates, India has only around 1 to 1.1 lakh MBBS seats, making medical admission highly competitive.
As per the notification, the mandatory requirement of appearance in NEET (UG)-2026 for admission to B.PT and B.OT programmes for the Academic Session 2026–27 has been deferred till 2027–28 due to logistical challenges highlighted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
For the current academic year 2026–27, admissions will be conducted on the basis of aggregate marks obtained in Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB) in 10+2, as per the prescribed eligibility criteria.
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