PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Government has issued a notification granting 10% horizontal reservation to students from government schools in admissions to undergraduate non-NEET courses. The government has previously granted a 10% reservation for NEET-based courses in 2023-2024.
This clears the deck for the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) to begin counselling for the academic year 2025–26.
According to the notification issued by the Higher Education Department on August 1 and released on Monday, the reservation will apply to seats under the Government Quota in both government and private self-financing institutions. Eligible courses include Engineering, Veterinary, Agriculture and Horticulture, Nursing, Biology-based Paramedical degree and diploma courses, Pharmacy, Law, Arts, Science, and Commerce.
To qualify, students must be residents of the Union Territory of Puducherry and must have studied exclusively in government schools within the UT continuously from Class VI to Class XII, passing the Higher Secondary Examination (+2).
This provision marks a variation from the Health Department's order, which grants a 10% reservation in NEET-based courses to students who have continuously studied in government schools from Classes I to XII.
With issued of the GO, the seat matrices are currently under preparation and awaited from the respective institutions: the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education (for Engineering, Law, Arts, and Science), Directorate of Health and Family Welfare (for MBBS and allied health courses), Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research (for B.V.Sc.), Agriculture Department (for Agriculture and Horticulture), Rashtriya Raksha University (for Police Courses), and Auroville Institute of Applied Technology (AIAT) for B.Voc. courses, CENTAC Convener Cheryl Ann Gerardine Shivan told TNIE. The final seat matrix for all courses and the merit list for Non-NEET and NEET courses are expected to be ready within the next two days. “Counselling and allotments are likely to commence by the end of this week”, she said.
The Bachelor of Arts in Security Management offered by Rashtriya Raksha University includes specialisations such as Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime Investigation, Corporate Intelligence and Fraud Investigation, and Advanced Policing Strategies. The university also offers a four-year BA/BSc program in Criminology and Police Science.
Meanwhile, the AIAT provides Bachelor of Vocation (B.Voc.) programs in cutting-edge fields like Software Development & Machine Learning, Production Technology, Green Energy and Electric Systems, and Applied Electronics & Chip Design. These programs are affiliated with Pondicherry University.
The latest policy aims to level the playing field for students from government schools and enhance equitable access to professional and academic courses across disciplines.
