<p>Bengaluru: Hundreds of students from families earning under Rs 8 lakh per annum paid exorbitant fees for management quota seats in professional courses last year, authorities have found ahead of the upcoming admission season. </p>.<p>This has raised questions on possible procedural lapses by revenue authorities while issuing income certificates.</p>.<p>OBC families with an annual income exceeding Rs 8 lakh are considered belonging to the 'creamy layer' category and ineligible to avail of reservation benefits. Currently, the 'creamy layer' rule does not apply to SC/STs and Category-1 of the OBC. It applies to OBC categories 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B.</p>.<p>Similarly, in the general category, students from families earning more than Rs 8 lakh annually cannot claim any benefits under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota. </p>.Sagara Science Forum: Where science sparks beyond the syllabus.<p>In 2025-26, more than 2,400 students submitted income certificates to claim reservation. However, they later opted for seats under private, management and NRI categories, which are expensive unlike the subsidised government-quota seats. </p>.<p>Seats under private, management and NRI categories cost between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1 crore for medical courses. For engineering courses, this ranges from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 80 lakh.</p>.<p>"Our concern is that when income certificates are issued to well-off students, it results in injustice to deserving beneficiaries. This is prevalent among students coming from agricultural families. We're planning to write to the higher-ups in the revenue department to prevent this malpractice," said a senior official at the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), which conducts the Common Entrance Test (CET) and admissions to professional courses. </p>.<p>The KEA itself has no mechanism to check the authenticity of income certificates that students furnish. In case of complaints, the KEA writes to the departments concerned for verification. There have been past instances where a few students lost their medical seats for submitting fake certificates.</p>.<p>"We don't deny that students may have borrowed loans to pay for expensive seats in good colleges, but that number is very less. The issuance of income certificates must be streamlined. Those earning more than Rs 8 lakh annually shouldn't get income certificates," the KEA official said. </p>.<p>Last year, more than 140 candidates belonging to EWS chose postgraduate medical seats under the management and NRI quotas with a tuition fee of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore a year.</p>.<p>"This also raised questions about the credibility of EWS certificates. We suspect similar discrepancies when it comes to issuing income certificates in the state," the official said. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Hundreds of students from families earning under Rs 8 lakh per annum paid exorbitant fees for management quota seats in professional courses last year, authorities have found ahead of the upcoming admission season. </p>.<p>This has raised questions on possible procedural lapses by revenue authorities while issuing income certificates.</p>.<p>OBC families with an annual income exceeding Rs 8 lakh are considered belonging to the 'creamy layer' category and ineligible to avail of reservation benefits. Currently, the 'creamy layer' rule does not apply to SC/STs and Category-1 of the OBC. It applies to OBC categories 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B.</p>.<p>Similarly, in the general category, students from families earning more than Rs 8 lakh annually cannot claim any benefits under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota. </p>.Sagara Science Forum: Where science sparks beyond the syllabus.<p>In 2025-26, more than 2,400 students submitted income certificates to claim reservation. However, they later opted for seats under private, management and NRI categories, which are expensive unlike the subsidised government-quota seats. </p>.<p>Seats under private, management and NRI categories cost between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1 crore for medical courses. For engineering courses, this ranges from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 80 lakh.</p>.<p>"Our concern is that when income certificates are issued to well-off students, it results in injustice to deserving beneficiaries. This is prevalent among students coming from agricultural families. We're planning to write to the higher-ups in the revenue department to prevent this malpractice," said a senior official at the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), which conducts the Common Entrance Test (CET) and admissions to professional courses. </p>.<p>The KEA itself has no mechanism to check the authenticity of income certificates that students furnish. In case of complaints, the KEA writes to the departments concerned for verification. There have been past instances where a few students lost their medical seats for submitting fake certificates.</p>.<p>"We don't deny that students may have borrowed loans to pay for expensive seats in good colleges, but that number is very less. The issuance of income certificates must be streamlined. Those earning more than Rs 8 lakh annually shouldn't get income certificates," the KEA official said. </p>.<p>Last year, more than 140 candidates belonging to EWS chose postgraduate medical seats under the management and NRI quotas with a tuition fee of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore a year.</p>.<p>"This also raised questions about the credibility of EWS certificates. We suspect similar discrepancies when it comes to issuing income certificates in the state," the official said. </p>