The State government, which wants to postpone the COMED-K counselling for professional courses even as it appeals the Karnataka High Court order that directed it to redo CET ranking, has now hit an impasse. The Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association (KUPECA), which conducts the COMED-K counselling, has refused to alter its schedule.
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At a meeting held on Wednesday, Higher Education minister Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan reportedly requested the association to postpone the COMED-K counselling till after the first round of CET-2022 counselling. However, KUPECA has refused, and in turn has requested the Minister to let them go ahead with the counselling as per schedule.
The meeting was inconclusive and Dr. Ashwath Narayan said he would chair another meeting with the representatives of KUPECA on September 13, when he said he was confident of finding a resolution to the impasse.
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“Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) and COMED-K will mutually consult and prepare the schedule of counselling keeping student’s convenience in mind,” he said.
However, Dr. M. R. Jayaram, honorary secretary, KUPECA said COMED-K was a pan-India exam and more than 70% of the students seeking seats were from outside the State. “For the sake of 40% government quota seats in our colleges, why make students from across the country wait? If our counselling is delayed, these students will seek admissions in other institutions elsewhere in the country. We will not disturb the 40% government quota seats and instead conduct counselling and allot seats only for the 60% management quota seats. Private engineering colleges are already facing several issues and the government should understand our plight too,” he said.
If any local student who gets admitted to a college in COMED-K counselling and later secures a better seat in CET-2022 counselling, KUPECA has assured that they would refund the fee. They also pointed out that for the past two years COMED-K counselling has been held before CET counselling.