Pass English test for medical UG seat under COMEDK

Students clearing PU examination before 2012 not eligible

This year onwards, students applying for undergraduate medical courses through the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) Undergraduate Entrance Test (UGET) will be tested for their skills in English for 60 marks. Last year, for the first time, COMEDK introduced the English test, but it was only for 30 marks.

“We were testing the waters last time. This year, it will be done in a full-fledged manner,” said COMEDK Executive Secretary S Kumar. Elaborating, COMEDK Chief Executive A S Srikanth said that it would mainly be a grammar test of matriculation level.

It was observed that candidates who take up medical courses needed a certain degree of comprehension skills in English, without which it would be difficult for them to pursue the courses.

“It will not be difficult for any student with reasonable ability to clear the test. Last year, out of thousands of students who appeared for the exam, only 287 were not able to secure the requisite 50 per cent marks in English,” Srikanth said. Even though students are expected to secure 50 per cent in the English test to be eligible for a COMEDK rank, the rank itself will be calculated based on the core subject scores.

COMEDK is also introducing a few measures to check malpractices and cases of impersonation in the admission process. This year onwards, all the test admission tickets will bear a digital signature of the COMEDK Executive Secretary.

For the past two years, COMEDK has stopped the system of physically handing out the admission tickets and has switched to online generation of admission tickets. This system would ensure that no fraudulent candidate attends the seat selection process.

For UGET 2014, any candidate who has cleared the second PUC exam prior to 2012 will not be eligible.

“We need younger people to grasp the subject with sharpness. A candidate who has cleared it prior to 2012 could also be applying after having pursued another degree. Basically, this age limit will ensure that the fresh students do not lose out on opportunity.”

Candidates who have once taken a seat in any of the COMEDK tests will not be eligible to participate in the admission process again.

Two years ago, COMEDK faced a situation where 15 candidates who had already secured seats in previous counselling appeared for seats again. “Why would any one do that if not for blocking seats? We wanted to eliminate such cases. All these measures will not only heighten the security, but also ensure better quality students,” Srikanth said.

The COMEDK UGET test this year will be held on Sunday, May 11. There are 99 examination centres in Bangalore alone and 10 centres in other parts of the State.