Comed-K engg counselling delayed as govt, colleges yet to sign MoU

The process of option entry for students to select seats in private engineering colleges part of the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (Comed-K) was to begin on Monday. But the date has not been finalised as the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and the colleges for seat-sharing has not yet been signed.

“We wanted to start the option entry process today. But the government has not finalised a meeting with the participating colleges regarding the MoU. So, we decided to wait,” said Dr S Kumar, the executive secretary of Comed-K.

Until the MoU is signed, Comed-K would not be able to prepare the final seat matrix, which indicates the number of seats in each college and the number of reserved seats, he added.

The MoU, by which colleges surrender 45% of their seats to the government, is expected to be signed within this week. M K Panduranga Setty, the secretary of Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges’ Association (KUPECA), said the government was not yet ready with the agreement and they (colleges) would sign it whenever the government asked them to.

“In the worst scenario, we will begin the option entry process by Friday, June 9,” Dr Kumar said. He said the first round of counselling would get over by the end of this month and the second round before July 15.

The results of the Under Graduate Entrance Test 2017 (UGET-2017) conducted by Comed-K were announced on May 27. Usually, the counselling process begins within a week of the rank list being declared. Deemed universities, which conduct their own entrance tests and counselling, have already started the process of seat allotment.

No fee hike
Setty said the fee structure for seats in private engineering colleges under government quota would remain the same as it was last year. “We demanded a fee hike of at least 10% and we wanted to meet the chief minister about this matter. But he seems to be very busy and we have not got an appointment. The government is reluctant to increase the fee,” he said.

DH News Service