A delayed Common Entrance Test (CET) got off to a start across 343 exam centres in the State on Tuesday with what most students and coaching centres termed were a “moderate biology paper” and “an easy-to-moderate mathematics paper”.
Pranav P. Shettigar from Christ Junior College, who is aspiring for a B.Tech. seat but wrote the biology exam to be on the safer side, said, “The biology paper was quite simple. I had solved previous papers to get a better understanding of the type of questions.”
On the other hand, Aniruddh P. Rao, a student of Jain PU College aiming for an engineering seat, said, “The questions in the maths paper were complex and though we knew how to solve them, we couldn’t due to lack of time.” A coaching centre said there was a print mistake in one of the questions (question 42 in Version A - 4).
Originally scheduled for April 29 and 30, the postponement of the exams had a negative impact on some. “The break made students lose focus and take the exam less seriously,” said Ashrith Shetty, an aspiring medical student.
Two issues continued to bother professional course aspirants. The implementation of the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006, which could negate ‘government-quota’ seats in private colleges, was one of them.
Bhanushree S., a student of NMKRV College for Women, said, “Students of lower economic groups also have aspirations to do professional courses and the government should not prevent them from accessing them.”
A possible fee hike too has parents worried. Anand Desai, a parent, said, “Students under general merit, who face the most competition, should get more opportunities. If they have to pay more even after the struggles they face to do well in competitive exams, it is very unfair.”
The physics and chemistry exams will be held on Wednesday.
