KCET: Drastic drop in students under Horanaadu-Gadinaadu quota

Bengaluru: The number of students opting for professional courses under Gadinaadu-Horanaadu Kannadiga quota through Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) is on the decline.

In the recent meeting chaired by the chief secretary, the authorities of Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) tabled this data during the discussion on utilisation of seats by Horanaadu and Gadinaadu candidates.

The data shared by the KEA is available with DH. It reveals that in the last eight years, the number of candidates joining professional courses in the state through the KCET under Horanaadu-Gadinaadu Kannadiga quota has come down drastically.

The KEA provides seats for the Horanaadu-Gadinaadu candidates by conducting a simple Kannada Language test of Class-4-level. To claim the seats the candidates must score not less than 12 marks out of 50 in the test.

As per the data available, in Engineering - the admission under the Horanaadu quota has come down from 271 in 2017 to 38 in 2024, for which the admission process was concluded recently. This is no different in Gadinaadu quota. In 2017, a total of 105 students got engineering seats and in 2024 it has slipped to 37.

H Prasanna, Executive Director of KEA, said, “Though there is awareness among the parents and students about the availability of seats which they can get just by clearing the simple Kannada test, the number of students from Horanaadu-Gadinaadu taking seats is going down. We need to review.”

Gadinaadu Kannadiga means, a candidate whose mother tongue is Kannada or Tulu or Kodava or Beary and who resides in Kannada-speaking areas of South Solapur or Akkalkot or Jath or Gadhinglaj Taluks of Maharashtra; and Kasargod or Hosadurga or Manjeshwara Taluks of Kerala State.

Horanaadu Kannadiga means a candidate who has a parent whose mother tongue is Kannada or Tulu or Kodava or Beary and either of the parents was domiciled in the state of Karnataka and who is residing outside the state of Karnataka as on 1st May of the year in which the KCET is held.

Such candidate having passed the qualifying exam from an university or Board or any other institution located outside Karnataka qualifies as Horanaadu Kannadiga.