Karnataka Examinations Authority to conduct combined seat allotment for UG professional courses for 2023-24

BENGALURU: In what is being touted as an important reform it has been decided to conduct ‘Combined Counseling Process’ for candidates seeking admission to Engineering/Medical/Dental/Agriculture/Veterinary/Pharmacy/ Nursing courses for the academic year 2023-24.

Karnataka Examination Authority Executive Director S Ramya said in a press release that the new process to be followed by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) will streamline the counselling process. The decision was taken in the interest of students and is expected to eliminate unduly delay in the process of seat allotment, she added.

Ramya explained, “Previously, there used to be separate rounds of counselling and seat allotment for the above courses. However, many students used to participate in both Engineering and Medical seat allotments and there were chances a few applicants would secure seats in both disciplines. This would lead to denying opportunities for other eligible candidates in the respective rounds. In that case, the KEA had to cancel Engineering seats of those candidates who had also secured medical seats in the second round”.

Under the new method, if any candidate is interested to participate in the seat allotment process for Engineering/ Medical/Dental/Agriculture/Veterinary/Pharmacy/ Nursing courses, then he/she should go through the respective seat matrices and enter the seats in the option entry sheet after taking into consideration the fees, courses and his/her choice of interest.

For example, if a candidate has decided to try for the Medical seat as the first option and would consider Engineering if no Medical seat is allotted, then he/she should enter choices of medical seats as top priorities and Engineering seats as later priorities in the option entry sheet.

If the candidate has decided to try for Engineering as their first choice and would consider Architecture, Pharmacy and Nursing courses if an Engineering seat is not allotted, then he/she should enter Engineering courses as the choice of top priority and Architecture, Pharmacy and Nursing courses as later priorities in the option entry sheet.

In the first round of allotment, seats will be allotted to individual candidates based on merit, reservations and option entry done by individual candidates. There is a possibility of candidates securing both Engineering and Medical seats in the first round. Then, the candidate should choose only one of the allotted seats in the choice entry screen and proceed for fee payment through challan downloaded online and generate an admission order.

He/She should report to the college within the due date and update the same in the college portal. In case the admission is not updated in the college portal, the seat will be considered vacant and taken up for allotment in the second round. The candidate also can hold on to one of the allotted seats (Engineering or Medical) and participate in the second round by exercising ‘Choice-2’.

In the second round of seat allotment for Engineering/Medical/Veterinary/ Nursing and other courses, only one seat will be allotted out of the options entered by the candidate.

After allotment of seats under Medical or Dental courses, the candidate must pay the fee and get admitted. Otherwise, the candidate must cancel his/her seat by paying the prescribed penalty.

If the medical seat is allotted in the second round, the candidate will not be eligible to participate in the mop-up round. However, candidates who are allotted dental seats can participate in the medical mop-up round without cancelling their allotted seats.

In the case of Engineering seats, the candidate can participate in the third round also. But the candidates who have been allotted seats in the second round must pay the fee.

The option entries made by candidates who have opted for Choice-3 and also candidates who have not been allotted any seat will be deleted in the third round of seat allotment and candidates will be allowed to enter options afresh.

The mop-Up round candidates who are allotted Engineering/Agriculture/Veterinary/Pharmacy/ Nursing and other courses should cancel the seat after paying a due penalty to participate in Medical and Dental mop-up rounds.

Likewise, candidates allotted medical/dental seats in the second round should cancel the seat after paying a due penalty to participate in Engineering and other allied courses mop-up round, the release said.