BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan on Thursday said that the results of the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET), for admission to engineering colleges, will be declared by August 15. This will facilitate admissions by September, when colleges are expected to reopen, he told reporters after day one of test.
The first day of KCET, which was held after much delay and contestation amid the pandemic, saw a substantial percentage of attendees even as the state reported more than 6,000 Covid-19 cases in a single day. Of the 1,94,419 registered candidates, 75.89 per cent wrote the Biology test and 89.22 per cent attempted the Math paper. This is lower than the previous year’s attendance of 79.90 per cent for Biology and 91.92 per cent for Math.
The minister reasoned that this was owing to the announcement of Class 12 results before the CET, due to which ineligible students could not appear for the test. Among the candidates were 49 students in Biology paper and 57 students in Math paper who had tested positive for Covid-19 and had written their exams across 22 districts.
These students were allocated halls in Covid Care Centres, utmost care was taken by invigilators too and the room was thoroughly sanitised, said Ashwath Narayan, who had visited and spoken to a few students at the GKVK centre during their test.
He was confident of 100 per cent attendance of the 60 Covid-19-positive students in the state. Ambulances ferried them to the exam centre and back home. Although incidents of crowding outside the exam centre were reported to the minister, he brushed aside the claims and told the media that he did not witness any such incidents.
Helpline to aid students with queries on CET
IN K R Puram and Ramamurthy Nagar, there was confusion in the distribution of OMR sheets, and since students were not allowed to wear their wristwatches inside, they found it difficult to manage time as there were no wall clocks in exam room. The department has set up a helpline (08-023460460, 080-23564583) for students facing any difficulties pertaining to KCET. DyCM Ashwath Narayan on Thursday visited four asymptomatic Covid-19 positive KCET candidates at the Farmers Training and Residential Centre on GKVK Campus and spoke to them, encouraging them to perform well. Interestingly, medical doctors served as exam hall supervisors here.
At least 10 staffers manned the exam centre for the four students. “This was an enriching experience,” they said. Wearing a PPE suit, the minister visited candidates who are said to have informed him that they were safely brought to the exam centre by ambulance and they were comfortable. Apart from congratulating them for their dedication and commitment and wishing them well for the exam, Dr Narayan was also seen enquiring if they had food, during the exam, in an attempt to put them at ease.