By News Karnataka
Copyright newskarnataka
The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has decided to issue showcause notices to 351 students who attended the third round of Common Entrance Test (CET) counselling but failed to join colleges before the September 14 deadline. Officials said that this act amounted to seat-blocking, depriving deserving candidates of government quota seats.
Action against students
As per the CET admission rules, when a government quota seat remains vacant after the final round, it reverts to the concerned college to be filled under the management quota. This loophole has often been used for seat-blocking, where students secure seats but do not join, only to pursue admission under private or other quotas.
To deter such practices, the government has imposed a penalty five times the college fee, which could amount to nearly ₹6 lakh per student. KEA has also recommended to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) that such students should not be admitted under Comed-K or management quotas.
“We’ve been calling the students to find out why they did not join. Some admitted they had already secured admission under Comed-K or management quota, which is unfair since those processes were completed earlier. A deserving CET candidate has now lost that opportunity,” said H. Prasanna, Executive Director of KEA.
Seats returned to managements
With the non-reporting of 351 students, their allotted government quota seats have been automatically returned to the respective colleges. KEA has written to VTU urging it to reject any requests from colleges to approve admissions for such students under other quotas.
“In case any request comes from colleges for their admission approval, it should not be considered,” Prasanna noted in his letter.
Sharp decline from last year
Officials pointed out that while the issue persists, the scale of seat-blocking has reduced significantly compared to 2023. Last year, over 2,500 students failed to join after allotment. This year’s figure of 351 reflects the impact of KEA’s awareness campaigns and stricter rules.
Colleges tighten rules
Some engineering colleges have also taken independent measures to avoid controversies. BMS College of Engineering, which was caught in the seat-blocking debate last year, announced it will not convert unfilled seats into management quota seats this time.
“Though none of our students were involved in the controversy, we were dragged into it. This year, even if the college faces losses, we will not accept unfilled seats under management quota. We have written to Comed-K, KEA and other authorities, asking them to conduct additional rounds instead of returning the seats to us,” said Venkata Prasad, Deputy Director (Administration), BMS College of Engineering.
By issuing showcause notices and imposing heavy fines, KEA aims to curb the practice of seat-blocking and ensure that CET seats are allotted only to serious candidates. With a reduction in the number of offenders this year, officials believe these strict measures are beginning to work. However, they stress that greater accountability from both students and colleges is essential to uphold the fairness of the CET admission process.
