MUMBAI: The National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) has released its Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) admission notice, but thousands of hopefuls found themselves scanning the brochure for the one thing it does not contain: how many seats are actually available.
There is no institute-wise breakdown, no course-wise matrix. Buried deep in the document is a disclaimer that has left students even more anxious: NIPER, Mohali, the organising institute, “disclaims liability for errors or omissions”.
“How do students even assess competition or make informed decisions in such a situation?” said a faculty member. “The institute washes its hands of accountability for the information it itself provides. That’s astonishing.”
As confusion brews, the cost of applying climbs. The application fee for the PhD programme has jumped to Rs 5,000-double or more than what is charged by IITs, IISERs, or central universities.
The eligibility clause for candidates to qualify through national-level exams like GPAT, GATE or NET rings hollow. Reports suggest that students have been admitted in past years without meeting these criteria, relying instead on unqualified GPAT scorecards-contradicting the brochure and NIPER’s ordinance.