Bengaluru: After over 10 days of delay in the first round of counselling for engineering seats, the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) on Wednesday published the complete seat matrix and fee structure.
KEA had opened option entry for medical and dental aspirants, holding NEET counselling for the first time. KEA officials said the negotiations between private managements and state government on fixing the fee hike had caused the delay.
KEA Executive Director K. Vinothpriya told Deccan Chronicle that the option entry was not made open to students along with the seat matrix as the final schedule for counselling had to be worked out. “Our officials have been working on fixing a comprehensive schedule to make the process smooth and candidate-friendly. As NEET results are completely different from that of CET, aspirants need not worry about both. This has also ensured more options for engineering aspirants as their medical and dental counterparts will not be able to block seats,” she said.
The link for option entry for engineering, architecture, agriculture and other seats was made available on the KEA website from 6 pm on Wednesday.
Pvt managements agree to 8% engg fee hike
Confusion and negotiations came to an end earlier this week as the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association finally agreed to the annual maximum fee hike of 8% as suggested by the Karnataka Fee Regulatory Committee (KFRC). The Committee, chaired by former High Court Judge D.V. Shylendra Kumar, had recommended to the state government in the first week of June to stick to the 8% hike. But private managements wanted 30%. The KFRC had warned the association that they would take legal action if colleges charged more than the prescribed amount. Higher Education Minister G.T. Devegowda stepped into the scene starting the negotiations at 5% after which the managements agreed to fall in line.
Number of engineering seats in state drops
Indicating a decrease in demand for engineering courses in the state, the seat matrix published by KEA for engineering colleges shows a reduction of 667 seats. While 55,883 seats were available last year, it has come down to 55,126. A top official from the higher education department said that the cut in numbers is because of some colleges opting out of the allotment process and a large number of seats finding no takers last year. “A few courses have also been discontinued this year from many colleges as they could not get the minimum required number of students last year,” the official said.
