Chennai: In light of delays in the revaluation of CBSE Class XII answer scripts and the NEET re-examination, Tamil Nadu, along with several other states, has requested a one-month extension of the admission deadline from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
According to the AICTE academic calendar for 2026-27, the final date for admissions to technical courses against vacancies is August 14. The council has also directed colleges to commence classes for first-year students from August 1.
“Admissions to professional courses are expected to be delayed across the country due to the ongoing issues,” a source from the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) committee stated. Last year, engineering admissions were permitted to continue until September 15. “We are hopeful that the AICTE will positively consider our demand,” the source added.
The engineering rank list is anticipated to be released on June 29, but this timeline depends on the release of CBSE Class XII revaluation results. CBSE will directly communicate any changes in marks to TNEA, and the committee will assign ranks to candidates. TNEA has also allocated a 10-digit random number to each candidate, which will be used to break ties in ranking.
Meanwhile, the state selection committee will commence admissions to allied health courses—including nursing, physiotherapy, and optometry—ahead of medical admissions. The central government exempted allied health courses from NEET this year, following representations from several states.
A college principal noted that conducting engineering admissions counselling before the release of NEET results could leave many seats vacant in top colleges for post-medical admissions. For this year's engineering admissions counselling, 2,45,220 students have paid the fees across the state, of which 28,693 are CBSE students.
Experts also warn that students might block allied health seats as insurance until MBBS counselling concludes, creating artificial vacancies and excluding genuine aspirants—a cascading effect of the NEET crisis on the broader admissions calendar.
