NCISM introduces 7.5-year Ayurveda programme leading to BAMS; new form of NEET exam for admission

NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has framed regulations for the Pre-Ayurveda Programme (PAP), aimed at preparing students for a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree.

Now, the BAMS course will be a seven-and-a-half-year course, including a two-year of PAP. The minimum eligibility for this undergraduate course is graduating Class 10, according to the regulations notified on October 25, 2024.

Through the new regulations, NCISM is aiming to inspire the students “to imbibe the values of Indian culture and tradition through the Ayurveda Gurukulam model of education”.

NEET PAP: New entrance test, eligibility

The Pre-Ayurveda Programme begins at the senior secondary school level, with those who have cleared Class 10 eligible for it.

For admission, the NCISM will require a new form of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, called NEET-PAP.

The test can be written in Sanskrit or any other language the commission decides on and will be conducted by a body the NCISM picks.

Currently, admission to AYUSH programmes at the undergraduate level is through the NEET UG, conducted by the National Testing Agency.

The cut-off scores for different groups for qualifying the NEET-PAP will be the following:

• General category: 50%
• Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disability (SC, ST, OBC, PwD): 40%

“An all India common merit list of the eligible candidates shall be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in the National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test Pre-Ayurveda Programme and the candidates, within the respective category shall be considered for admission to Pre-Ayurveda Program from the said merit list only,” say the regulations.

All admissions will be conducted via centralised online counseling.

Ayurveda Gurukulam for PAP

Those who clear it will join a 7.5-year residential graduation programme in ayurveda, split into the following sections:

• 2 years of PAP
• 4.5 years of BAMS
• 1 year of compulsory internship

The curriculum of the new Ayurveda course includes traditional subjects as well as modern competencies, aligning with National Education Policy (NEP 2020).

Students of the 7.5-year undergraduate course will be studying at an “Ayurveda Gurukulam” – a standalone residential Ayurveda institution or college along with the teaching hospital.

All Ayurveda Gurukulams will be affiliated to the Central Sanskrit University (CSU), Janakpuri, New Delhi, with an admission capacity of 50 seats each per academic year.

In the ‘Pre-Ayurveda-Programme for Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery Regulations, 2024’, NCISM has detailed its norms on eligibility, curriculum and requirements of infrastructure and faculty standards. NCISM had published a draft of these regulations on August 4, 2023.

NCISM: PAP and BAMS

According to the NCISM, the goals of the programme go beyond those of a healthcare course.

They include “emphasising the principles of Bharatiya Shastras and the Sanskrit language”, guiding students to study “authentically from classical texts” to become “holistic practitioners”; inspiring them to “embrace Indian cultural values” and promoting “meaningful guru-shishya interactions”.

The eligibility criteria for admission into seven and half years programme for BAMS include following

• Candidate should have passed Class 10 from any recognised board, including vedic board
• Candidate should be 15 years of age on or before the December 31 of the year of his admission in the first year

Also read Degree recognition, more funds, NEP 2020: Becoming universities has changed Sanskrit institutions

BAMS Pre-Ayurveda-Programme: Subjects, curriculum

Students at Ayurveda Gurukulam will be taught in Sanskrit, Hindi, English or any other Indian regional language recognised in the Constitution of India.

Students of the PAP will study eight main subjects in the first year and seven in the second.

The main subjects in both the years include the following:

• Sanskrit
• English or other Indian languages
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Mathematics
• Biology

The other two subjects in first year are – transitional curriculum and Bharatheeya Darsanas and Shastras (Indian philosophy and knowledge systems) and another main subject in second year is ‘Introduction to Ayurveda’.

Even though the NCISM did not provide the list of elective courses for residential Ayurveda undergraduate programme, it has instructed students to qualify five online elective courses of 10 marks each during the first two years of course. Colleges will provide a separate online certificate for each elective.

“The formal education shall include course curriculum as per competency-based syllabus developed in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework based on the National Education Policy 2020. Informal education shall include topics such as Parayanam (Recitation) of Sanskrit texts, skill-based activities like sixty-four arts, computer programming, medical instrumentation, tadvidyasambhasha, mathematical thinking, life skills,” the regulations say.

Also read ‘Legitimise superstitions’: What Ayurveda courses teach and why there’s demand for change

NCISM has mandated a minimum of one hour each for library and physical education per week and one hour of recreational activities per month.

Each student must maintain a minimum of 75% attendance in each subject, in theory (lecture hours) and practical (non-lecture hours) separately, for appearing in examinations.

At the end of second year of the course, a university-level examination will be conducted for the entire syllabus of the two years programme, with the maximum marks of 1,300.

Students will need a minimum of 50% to pass.