NCISM halts 2026-27 admissions at Haridwar Unani college, fines it Rs 1 crore

The National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine (NCISM), the national regulator for Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa education, has put on hold the 2026-27 recognition of Uttaranchal Unani Medical College and Hospital in Haridwar, Uttarakhand's only Unani medical college. The order, reported on Sunday, 25 October 2026, also imposes a fine of Rs 1 crore and stops the college from admitting any students to its 60 BUMS seats for the new session.

Unani is one of the traditional systems of medicine recognised in India under the Ministry of Ayush, and it is taught through the BUMS degree. Graduates register as Unani practitioners and many work in government Ayush dispensaries and hospitals. A college that cannot admit students for a year therefore affects not only one campus but also the supply of trained practitioners in a state that has only one such college.

The case also shows how the regulator is now checking colleges. "Ghost faculty" means teachers who are listed on paper so that a college meets the minimum staff the rules require, but who do not actually teach. Such listings let a college pass inspection while students are taught by too few people. The NCISM has linked teacher attendance to Aadhaar-based biometric systems so that a teacher's presence can be checked, and the commission's findings in this case say that those records were manipulated. When a regulator finds fake teachers, it can reduce seats, impose a fine or withhold permission for a year, and here it used all three.

This order is part of a wider tightening across Ayush education this season. On 12 October 2026 the commission was reported to have withheld recognition from 61 Ayurveda colleges for 2026-27 over reasons including refused inspections, weak hospital services and shortages of teaching staff. Earlier, in September, it barred 457 Ayurveda teachers for a year for not following its directions. For students, the message is that a college's permission is checked every year and can be withheld, even for a college that has run for years.

Belief and evidence are separate questions here. This story is about the rules that govern how Unani doctors are trained, not about whether any Unani remedy works. Claims about treatments need their own evidence from named studies or bodies.

Short-term: No new BUMS students can join the college in the 2026-27 session. Candidates in the Ayush counselling process who were considering Haridwar for Unani will have to choose another college. Students already studying at the college are not the subject of the admission ban as reported, but they should watch for any official notice from the college, the affiliating university or the commission.

Long-term: The college can seek recognition again for a later session only after meeting the commission's staffing and infrastructure rules. Repeated action of this kind across states may push private Ayush colleges to hire real, full-time faculty, which is what the rules were meant to ensure.

Who is affected: NEET-qualified candidates seeking a BUMS seat, current students and staff of the college, Uttarakhand Ayurved University, and patients who use the college's hospital in Haridwar.

Questions and Answers