BENGALURU: Students are in a state of panic as thousands of KCET aspirants across Karnataka are struggling to complete their option entry due to persistent server failures on the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) portal.
They are demanding either an immediate resolution of the technical glitches or an extension of the deadline. In response, KEA has extended the option entry deadline from 15 July to 18 July.
Mohan (name changed), a second-year student who appeared for KCET this year, said the issue began as soon as the option entry link was sent by KEA at midnight on 8 July. Since then, he and many others have allegedly been unable to access the portal properly.
“I sat from 10.30 am to 10 pm at a cyber centre, and I could only enter 17 colleges. The server either keeps crashing or goes under maintenance. Today again, we came at 10 am as officials had promised the server would be stable. But by 2 pm, they said it was still under maintenance. Then they postponed it to 6 pm,” said Mohan.
He added that his father and another family friend took leave from work to accompany him, while others, like Revathy (name changed), even skipped work for two days to help students complete the process.
“No company or private school gives continuous leave. People are doing all this just to complete this one form. And still, the site doesn’t work,” he said.
The issue is not limited to one location. Mohan said he has received calls from his friends across Karnataka, including Bengaluru, Hassan, and other districts, reporting the same problem.
“More than 1 lakh students' futures are being affected, including my son’s,” exclaimed a concerned parent.
Frustration is growing among both students and parents. “The helpline number is useless. They say the call is being forwarded, but nobody answers.
“None of my friends in my school have been able to complete the process due to the server being down, and I really hope KEA does something to help us out,” shared Diya (name changed), another student.
Responding to this, KEA Director H. Prasanna stated that the option entry process has been temporarily disabled due to an issue at the data centre.
“There is no need for parents or students to panic. We will release a revised timetable and extend the cut-off date. Time is sufficient and we will ensure that students are given adequate opportunity to complete their option entry. Once the system is back online, we will inform all concerned students through WhatsApp messages and updates on our website,” he assured.
Prasanna also advised students to prepare a priority list by the time the final seat matrix is released so they are ready to enter their preferences once the portal is accessible. “This will help reduce the load on the portal caused by many users being logged in for long periods, thereby improving access for everyone,” he explained.
“The mock allotment results will be released on 21 July, and the final allotment results will be announced on 28 July,” stated KEA.