Karnataka Government working towards Single CET
If everything goes well, there will be a single Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to professional courses from next year. That may lead to the scrapping of the Consortium of Medical Engineering and Dental colleges of Karnataka (Comed-K).
In a meeting held by the Karnataka Examination Authority officials, together with Higher Education Minister Aravind Limbavali on Thursday, in which representatives of a few private management engineering colleges were present, it was decided to bring a separate CET Act envisaging fixed seat sharing, counselling pattern and single CET. It is likely to be functional from next academic year.
However, Comed-K members are holding a meeting on February 7 and the members are supposed to meet the Minister on February 10. “We can get a clear picture by then,” the Minister said. He invited private college managements to join KEA and share their seats. He offered to fulfil their demands.
One of the demands from the private colleges is reserving 10 per cent of seats to non-Kannadigas. The Minister in addition has requested the deemed universities to offer their 50 per cent of seats to the government.
ADVERTISEMENT
Already, Sri Siddartha College of Engineering in Tumkur has agreed to provide 50 per cent of the seats to the government.
Limbavali said that 15 per cent of engineering seats were reserved for polytechnic students. “After the casual rounds, polytechnic students can take the remaining seats,” he said.
KEA will also have a grievance cell for students who enrol for professional courses.
Earlier, the state government had scrapped the N R Shetty Committee that was acting as a grievance cell. The Minister said a fresh committee with three members would be create for the similar purpose. Members from the Karnataka State Higher Education Council will be the members for the cell.
For the first time, KEA will organise campus recruitment for engineering students at five centres across the state. The Minister said campus recruitment for seventh and eighth semester students will be conducted at Bangalore, Hubli, Gulbarga, Shimoga and Mangalore.
