BENGALURU: Some of the engineering seat aspirants who had marked medical/dental as their first choice in seat selection process, have lost one year as they have been allotted a medical seat as per their priority marked.
Despite several warnings by Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), some students have ignored it and erroneously opted for medical as their first choice. Now, they have no option but to join the medical/dental seat allotted or wait for a year to appear for CET again to get an engineering seat.
G T Devegowda, Higher Education Minister said, "It is according to Supreme Court Direction and we cannot extend the engineering counselling."
As the deadline to complete the admission process for engineering courses for the 2018-19 academic year was August 15, even the government cannot extend the date nor allow students to change their options, as it is a Supreme Court direction.
Several students aspiring for engineering seats have lost their government quota seats (engineering) as they forgot to cancel the medical and dental seat option they entered as choice 1. The aspirants now don't want to take their medical or dental seats offered to them as it is costing them heavy.
Several parents and candidates who have gathered at KEA have also submitted request to higher education minister seeking extension of the date.
In the round 1 and 2 of engineering counselling, the students had secured an engineering seat, but few who waited up to the third round and opted for engineering as '2', were automatically given medical or dental seats. And their engineering seats were cancelled.
The state government/KEA had made its stand very clear for the 2018-19 counselling that first a student will be allotted medical or dental seats and only then engineering seat allotment would take place.
Meanwhile, some students blamed the KEA server and said when they tried deleting the medical option, but the server was down. Even the helpline was unresponsive, they added.