KCET: Only 0.5% of students opt for Kannada question papers

Bengaluru: The number of candidates opting for the Kannada (translated) question paper in the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) is not even 0.5 per cent of the total number of students who have registered for the test.

This was revealed during the Karnataka Examination Authority’s (KEA) exercise to understand the exact number of candidates in need of Kannada question paper as the Authority is printing question papers both in English and Kannada. 

According to the details available from the KEA, only 1,348 candidates of the 3,30,530 candidates registered for KCET 2025 have said that they want a Kannada question paper and most of them were from Kalyana Karnataka districts.

The data shows that the highest number of students who have opted for the Kannada question paper was from Vijayapura district with 190, followed by 120 from Kalaburgi, 72 from Yadgir, 62 from Raichur and 50 from Koppal district. 

The candidates have opted for the Kannada question paper for all science subjects, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. 

This year, while registering for KCET 2025, the KEA added another column in the application form asking students whether they want a question paper in Kannada.

“As per our information, no PU college in the state is teaching science courses in the Kannada medium. Following that, we decided to get feedback from students,” said Prasanna H, executive director of KEA.

Setting a Kannada question paper is not easy.

“We simply cannot translate it. We need to set up a subject experts committee who are experts in Kannada to translate the paper and it is also a confidential work. The cost is also the same as what we are spending on printing,” Prasanna added.

However, Prasanna clarified that the KEA will not stop providing Kannada question papers immediately.

“We will wait for next year and make a decision,” he said.