Nearly 10,000 students in Punjab are ending October in limbo. They enrolled in allied healthcare courses in July, they have been attending classes for almost three months, and yet the colleges they study in still do not have affiliation orders for the 2026-27 academic session.
The university at the centre of the impasse is I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), formerly Punjab Technical University. Affiliation orders for 80 to 90 colleges offering allied healthcare courses remain pending, even as the admission deadline falls today, October 31. For students and their families, the question is no longer academic. If the paperwork is not sorted soon, they fear, an entire academic year could be at risk.
What is stuck, and why
The delay did not begin this week. According to reports in The Tribune and The Times of India, IKGPTU first held back while it waited for a University Grants Commission (UGC) notification endorsing courses under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP). That notification arrived on August 27, 2026.
Instead of clearing the logjam, the notification opened a second round of questions. The university sought clarification from the NCAHP over the offering of B.Sc Cardiac Care Technology (CCT) and B.Sc Operation Theatre Technology (OTT), two courses to which the commission had raised objections. A further clarification was then needed, and the process stretched on.
The underlying friction, as described in the reports, is a mismatch over nomenclature and curriculum. The NCAHP, a body that came up about five years ago, recently amended some rules and regulations. Colleges, the university and the commission are now trying to align course names and syllabi with those revised norms, and until that alignment is formally settled, affiliation orders for many colleges cannot be issued.
IKGPTU Registrar Dr Navdeepak Sandhu has said the university is expecting clarity from the state commission, and that it will go by the final decision.
How students are caught in the middle
That last fear is the one college associations keep returning to. Students did nothing wrong. They joined courses that were being offered, paid their fees, and turned up for classes. Yet it is their year that could be disrupted if an administrative dispute is not resolved in time.
- They enrolled in July and have attended classes for nearly three months.
- Their mid-term examinations have not been conducted because of the prevailing confusion.
- Admissions to the courses are still open, with the deadline falling on October 31.
- Without affiliation, questions hang over examinations, recognition of the course, and the academic year itself.
What colleges are asking for
Dr Anshu Kataria, president of the Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA), has written to the Punjab health minister seeking the state government’s intervention to take up the matter with the NCAHP. The association has urged that Punjab be treated as a special case and that the admission deadline be extended by a month, so that nearly 10,000 students do not lose an academic year because of administrative delays.
The request is modest. It does not ask any authority to waive standards or ignore the commission’s concerns. It asks for time: time for the university, the state and the commission to settle the nomenclature and curriculum questions, and time for students already in classrooms to be protected while that happens.
What happens next
Three things will decide how this ends. First, the clarification the university is expecting from the state commission, and whether it resolves the objections over CCT, OTT and other affected courses. Second, whether the state government intervenes with the NCAHP, as the colleges have requested. Third, whether the October 31 admission deadline is extended, giving the system breathing room.
Until those answers arrive, students should keep their own records in order: fee receipts, enrolment proof, attendance records and any communication from the college. Follow notices from the college and the university, rather than rumours on social media, and ask the college office in writing if an examination schedule remains unclear.
For now, 10,000 students in Punjab are waiting for a decision that should have come before they ever sat down in a classroom. The sooner it comes, the less damage it will do.
FAQs
Why are PTU affiliations pending for allied healthcare courses?
IKGPTU first waited for a UGC notification endorsing NCAHP courses, which came on August 27, 2026. It then sought clarification from the NCAHP over courses including B.Sc Cardiac Care Technology and B.Sc Operation Theatre Technology, where objections had been raised over nomenclature and curriculum.
How many students and colleges are affected?
Nearly 10,000 allied healthcare students across 80 to 90 colleges in Punjab are affected, according to reports in The Tribune and The Times of India.
When is the admission deadline?
Admissions to the courses are still open, with the deadline falling on October 31, 2026. Colleges have urged that it be extended by a month.
Have the affected students been attending classes?
Yes. Students enrolled in July and have attended classes for nearly three months, but their mid-term examinations have not been conducted owing to the confusion.
What should affected students do now?
Keep fee receipts, enrolment proof and attendance records safe, follow official notices from the college and university, and ask the college in writing about examination and affiliation status if it remains unclear.
Verify the latest notices with IKGPTU and your college before acting on this report.
