MOHALI-16^th May 2026-The Federation of Self Financing Technical Institutions (FSFTI), All India & Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA) has urged the country’s major higher education and professional regulatory bodies to extend the admission cut-off dates for technical, medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, allied, law courses etc till October 30, in view of delays in entrance examinations and counselling processes across the country.

Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, FSFTI; President, PUCA; and Chairman, Aryans Group of Colleges, Rajpura Near Chandigarh stated that representations have been submitted to the following national regulatory councils and bodies seeking immediate intervention including University Grants Commission (UGC), National Medical Commission (NMC), Indian Nursing Council (INC), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Dental Council of India (DCI) National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP), Bar Council of India (BCI) All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) etc.

Dr. Kataria said that as per the latest notifications issued by PCI and UGC, the present admission cut-off date for various professional courses is August 15. However, the admission cycle this year has been significantly affected due to delays and rescheduling of entrance examinations and counselling procedures.

It is to be mentioned that as per judgment Parshvanath Charitable Trust vs AICTE Reported as: (2013) 3 SCC 385.the Supreme Court of India fixed a uniform academic calendar and strict timelines for approvals, counseling, admissions, and commencement of classes for technical institutions regulated by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Highlighting the scale of India’s higher education ecosystem, he stated that according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE 2021-22) data released in early 2024, India has one of the world’s largest higher education systems with more than 45,000 colleges and approximately 4.33 crore students enrolled in higher education institutions across the country.

It is pertinent to mention that for the last five years, under the leadership and efforts of Dr. Anshu Kataria Punjab has been consistently approaching the Supreme Court of India and securing relief regarding the extension of admission cut-off dates.