Chaos reigns on Day One of document verification at KEA

The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) witnessed chaos on Monday during the document verification of candidates eligible to choose undergraduate professional courses through Common Entrance Test (CET) 2022.

Thousands of candidates and parents gathered at KEA office in Malleswaram for document verification, but the process was delayed for hours due to server issues. Parents and candidates even alleged that the block education officers (BEOs) came late.

Though the document verification process is made online, the KEA had asked BEOs in Bengaluru Urban to verify and upload the documents to avoid confusion. “The reporting time was 8.30 am, but there were no officers from the education department on time. Some arrived at 10 am and this also delayed the process,” a KEA source said.

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“Despite providing training, the BEOs were not comfortable uploading the documents and also to avoid an unnecessary crowd at their officers we have called them to KEA to verify the documents,” the source explained.

On day one, candidates ranked 1 to 5,000 were called for document verification. “We were waiting since 8 am in the morning, but they did not start the process till 10.30 am,” said a parent. “There was no proper drinking water and washroom facility for candidates. It was a complete mess,” said an engineering seat aspirant.

A parent pointed out that such a situation is not new at KEA. “Three years back we were here for a seat selection for our elder daughter and this was the scene even then,” mentioned a parent. However, the officials of KEA denied the delay and said the delay was for a few minutes. “As it was day one there was a delay and it was for a few minutes,” said an official.