JOIN USAs a result, a fresh tender has been re-issued by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), relaxing conditions for bidders so that more can qualify.
None of the six firms that submitted their bids in the first round met the requirement of holding satellite-based coaching for at least three years. Firms have to show that they have provided at least 100 hours of satellite-based coaching in one year, and a cumulative of 200 hours of coaching over three years.
According to officials, six firms had submitted bids when the first tender document was submitted last month. However, when the technical bids were opened on December 22 none of the firms had qualified.
Even, the government-owned Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keonics), which provided coaching last year, did not qualify. Moreover, the coaching programme failed last year owing to frequent power cuts.
An analysis of the impact of last year's coaching found that the performance of rural students deteriorated when compared with the performance between 2006 and 2009, when there was no rural coaching. As per the analysis only four percent of those who attended rural coaching got medical seats, while 30 percent of them were able to secure seats in the engineering course.
The coaching programme will be held in two phases, wherein 100 students will be housed in each coaching centre. During the first phase, in the months of January and February 2011, the programmes will be telecast on Saturdays and Sundays. In the second phase, the programme will be telecast from April 1 to April 25, as the CET is scheduled to be held on April 27 and 28.