BENGALURU: The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) on Sunday (June 14) released verification slips for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET), for students who had registered for the counselling process. While the procedure was made available for students from most streams, medical students who had appeared for the CET were left stranded and frustrated, due to the cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), earlier this year.
When the Under Graduate Common Entrance Test (UGCET) results were announced back on June 6, KEA co-chairman Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil had acknowledged the delay in counselling for medical students. “As you all know, the NEET exam will be reconducted. Because of the delay, we had to delay the CET counselling [for Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) and Diploma in Pharmacy (D. Pharm) applicants] by a little bit. The medical students will not face any trouble,” he had said.
Top rankholders divided
The top 10 UGCET rankholders applying for medical streams are divided in conviction; while some remain vociferous about their misgivings and apprehensions, others are unwilling to let their frustrations get the better of them.
Suchita M, who had come joint-second from the medical stream with 99.44%, could not help but express her disdain. “I had been preparing [primarily] for NEET. My preparation for over two years was NEET-oriented, and I appeared for UGCET incidentally. There’s nothing we can do in a system like this; I don’t care about it anymore,” she said.
It is unclear whether it is the passage of time since the cancellation on May 12 of the first NEET examination (held on May 3) that has softened the blow on the present, or it is simply the act of inevitable acceptance, that is behind the disillusioned perseverance exhibited by most of the medical rankholders in the face of the present uncertainty.
“I don’t feel too much disappointment regarding this; we [NEET applicants] are in this together.We all feel a sense of unity because all of our counselling has been delayed, and the issue has happened for each and everyone of us. My plan for the future is to get into a good medical college, preferably a national one,” said Amulya S, a joint-first rankholder with a 100% score. Nayana Gopi, who also came first with a 100% score, said, “Honestly, there was some frustration at first; I felt that everyone was moving ahead with their lives and goals and I was stuck. [Right now] I am focusing on what is in my control: I revise concepts daily, make a study plan everyday, review backup options and talk to seniors about college options.”
For many, not putting all their eggs in one basket has been a source of pressure relief. “I’m just disappointed, not helpless. There was no proper conducting of the examination; I want to become a doctor, but I have also sat for other examinations,” said Johann Job, who came joint-second with Suchita M (99.44%). Ram Nikhil Puvvadi, who came ninth with 98.89%, said that this was “not a problem” since he would be pursuing computer science (Puvvadi had an All India Rank (AIR) of 74 in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced 2026).