“A decision has been taken in favour of conducting the examinations,” Siddaiah, Principal Secretary to the Department of Higher Education, told The Hindu on Wednesday.
When asked about the norms laid down by the handbook of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), he said, "AICTE have not taken objection. They have allowed it (the examination to take place) ..."
He said that the approach to the decision was that “the examination was (being) conducted (till now), let it be conducted”.
When asked if there was any other factor on which the decision was based other than the AICTE handbook, he said, "I have no idea....I have no other information," he said.
On May 30, Mr Sidaiah had told The Hindu that there would be no entrance examination this year for diploma students who wanted to join engineering colleges. He had said that seat selection would be based on diploma merit for lateral entry into engineering colleges.
Students across the State, especially those from North Karnataka who shifted to Mangalore to prepare for the entrance examinations, have been anxiously waiting for a decision on the matter for the past two weeks.
