Diploma students want 3rd round of counselling

Alleging bias, they say paucity of time forced them to commit errors in admission process

As many as 35 to 40 students who wrote the diploma CET were desperately attempting the impossible at the KEA office on Wednesday - seeking a third round of counselling despite the Supreme Court clearly laying down that admissions to all engineering seats will have to be completed by August 15. 

A majority of these students were of the opinion that the KEA had been unfair and discriminatory in its treatment of them.

“CET students are given a second extended and a vacancy round along with more time for option entry as well as reporting to college, whereas we are given just two rounds and even lesser time to complete admission formalities,” said an agitated Ramesh S (name changed), a diploma student.  

A number of these students were not satisfied with the allotments and felt that they should have got more time to carefully consider options and details.

“The options before us are either a third round of counselling or a refund of our fees. Authorities have told us that there is no provision for refund at this stage,” said Sunil M (name changed), another diploma student.

A number of students claimed that they had not got sufficient time while following the various processes of admissions which resulted in technical faults on their part. Take the case of Soumya S, who had been allotted a seat in a city college in the first round of option entry and had even paid the admission fees. Trying to better her chances, she participated in the second round of counselling, but ‘unknowingly’ entered an option to forfeit her seat on entering the second round.

“I am in a situation where I don’t have a college to go to.” 

Another case is that of Sudhakar K G, who got a seat in mechanical engineering in the first round, but wanted a better college for the same seat.

“I entered the second round of option entry, but in that round, I accidently entered the wrong option for mechanical engineering. I was alloted seat in another branch, instead of mechanical engineering. I want to desperately rectify this mistake,” said Sudhakar.    
While claiming that these are faults of the students, a KEA official who did not want to be named said that the matter will be “examined”.

Dental students

In addition to this, a number of CET students who were allotted seats at the Rajiv Gandhi College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Bangalore, in the vacancy round also reached the office, when they were denied admission by college authorities. Quoting a Supreme Court judgement (Civil Appeal number 4318 and 4319) in 2013, the college gave these students a letter which said that “the present allotment is a clear violation of the directions of the Supreme Court.”

Authorities at the KEA were of the opinion that the college had got the Supreme Court judgement all wrong and that they would rectify the mistakes by Friday.

“The last date for admissions to dental and medical seats is September 30. We will sort the problem with the college,” said an official