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Saturday, September 26, 2026

NEWS TODAY 26.09.2026

High medical education fee a major hurdle for students

26.09.2026

For Heer Nai, the choice was between a medical seat and an affordable alternative. “She secured a seat at NHL Municipal Medical College but did not want to pursue medicine at a private college where the annual fee could have been around Rs 24 lakh. She has instead opted for Pharm D at LM Pharmacy, where the annual fee is about Rs 2 lakh,” said Yagnesh, Heer’s father.

“NEET score is good, but there has to be a budget for medical education. We cannot afford it.” Others are holding on for the third round. Deven Yatri, who secured a seat at SMIMER with a NEET score of 335, is hoping for an upgrade because a fee of around Rs 24 lakh a year for management-quota seats in Surat is unaffordable. Hitanshi Kalyani, who scored 322 in NEET in the open category, also did not confirm her seat at Kalol Medical College, after being offered a management-quota option costing more than Rs 24 lakh a year.

“I run a scrap business. My daughter plans to add more general-quota options in the third round as the fees are not affordable,” said Ram Prakash Kalyani, her father. Some students also cited the long duration of medical education. For some families, these factors add to the financial pressure of choosing medicine.

771 Gujarat MBBS-BDS allottees skip seats over fees

Many Eye Cheaper Alternatives Or Better Allotments

Bharat.Yagnik@timesofindia.com 26.09.2026

Ahmedabad: For Meman Mohammad Shaikh, a resident of Salad village in Vadodara district, a confirmed admission at a private medical college came with a hefty price tag which his family could ill afford. The open-category candidate secured admission at Parul University, but the annual fee of about Rs 10 lakh made him abandon his long-held dream to study medicine.

“My family cannot afford paying such exorbitant fees. I am now looking at a BHMS or BAMS course at another institute, where the annual fees of around Rs 2 lakh fit our budget,” said Meman, whose father runs a saree shop in Salad near Vadodara.

“I have secured a government scholarship of about Rs 2 lakh and expect another Rs 2 lakh as financial assistance from my community. Despite this, my family will have to bear Rs 6 lakh for the first year itself and then Rs 10 lakh subsequently every year if I pursue the medical course,” he explains.

Meman is among 771 students who were allotted MBBS or BDS seats in the first two rounds of Gujarat’s UG medical and dental counselling but have failed to confirm their admissions, according to data from the state Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC).

“Students leaving confirmed seats in MBBS and BDS courses in such high numbers is unprecedented,” said a senior member of the medical admission committee. High fees have emerged as a key concern among students who are weighing whether to accept their allotted seats or wait for the next round, officials said.

Several students said they were considering dental, pharmacy, Ayurveda and homeopathy courses where the fee burden is lower. Uday Karavadra, who scored 421 in NEET and was allotted a seat at SAL Medical College, Ahmedabad, also declined admission in MBBS.

“The annual fee of Rs 11.68 lakh would have taken the five-year cost to nearly Rs 55 lakh. My father is a farmer and under no circumstances can we afford such a high fee,” he said. Karavadra is now considering studying Ayurveda.

Representational pic High fees have emerged as a key concern among students who are weighing whether to accept their allotted seats or wait for the next round

NEET-PG: Only 114 cross 600 mark

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesofindia.com 26.09.2026

New Delhi: Only 114 candidates scored 600 or more out of 720 in NEET-PG 2026, with the highest score at 641. A score of 601 was enough to secure a place in the top 100, according to the detailed result data released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences.

The top three ranks went to candidates scoring 641, 633 and 626, while four candidates at ranks 4 to 7 scored 625 each. The number of candidates rose sharply as the score cut-off fell.

As many as 2,614 candidates scored 550 or more, while 12,111 scored 500 or above. The number rose to 29,130 for 450 or more and 51,729 for scores of 400 or above. The score-to-rank gap widened sharply at lower scores.

A score of 570 corresponded to rank 1,000, 532 to rank 5,000, 508 to rank 10,000 and 403 to rank 50,000. The scores are not directly comparable with last year’s results, as NEET-PG 2025 was scored out of 800, compared with 720 this year. The detailed result also showed 194 candidates with scores below zero. The median score was 262, while the mean was 274.4 among records carrying numerical scores. The detailed result contain 2,73,096 records, including 7,136 candidates marked absent and one result withheld.

2 yrs on, colleges await new NAAC rules rollout

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesofindia.com 26.09.2026

Bengaluru: Higher educational institutions are awaiting implementation of National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s (NAAC) new accreditation framework almost two years after it was announced, with applications suspended since 2024. NAAC had proposed replacing its CGPA-based grading system, ranging from A++ to D, with a two-tier model comprising binary accreditation and maturity-based graded levels.

The proposal followed recommendations of Radhakrishnan Committee on transformative accreditation reforms, approved by the ministry of education in July 2024. NAAC has not specified when the framework will be introduced.

For institutions whose tenure has expired, NAAC has posted a circular on its website extending the validity of expired accreditations until the maturity-based graded system is launched. The delay has affected colleges seeking improved ratings to apply for autonomous status or transition to universities from autonomous colleges. “Institutions could also lose recruitment opportunities because employers consider rankings and ratings,” a faculty member overseeing accreditation at a private higher educational institution said.

NAAC director Ganesan Kannabiran said the council is working to introduce a basic framework suitable for a sector with a large number of unaccredited colleges. “The framework must accurately measure quality without setting unrealistic standards that discourage institutions from applying,” he said. “I cannot give an exact timeframe, but it will happen soon.” Explaining the delay, Kannabiran said NAAC had received nearly 2,350 applications by the time they stopped accepting new ones in 2024.

“We had a commitment to complete those existing applications, which continued until last Sept, as running parallel processes could have caused confusion,” he said. “A committee is reviewing modifications intended to bring more institutions within the accreditation system while maintaining a threshold level of quality. NAAC will launch the framework after its approval, while other preparations are proceeding simultaneously,” he said.