CET to be held on May 1, 2, 3

Bangalore: In news that will bring some relief to those aiming for professional courses in the State, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has finally decided on the dates for the Common Entrance Test (CET). The test will be held on May 1, 2 and 3. The decision was taken at the governing council meeting of the KEA here on January 31. However, though the CET is the qualifying examination for both medical and engineering courses, medical seat aspirants will have to wait for the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) to find out if they have to write the CET. According to the schedule drawn up by the KEA, the subject papers will be held on May 1 and 2, while the Kannada test for students applying under the ‘Horanadu’ and ‘Gadinadu’ categories will be on May 3. “These dates were first agreed upon on January 3 at a meeting,” said a top KEA official. Behind schedule The KEA application process and brochure is already well behind schedule. The official added that the KEA will be inviting applications shortly. “However, the decision is subject to the Supreme Court verdict on NEET,” he said. The all-important seat matrix, which decides the ratio of seats in private colleges allotted under the government quota, will be decided this week. The government’s first round of talks with representatives of private professional college managements is slated to be held on February 5 and 6, sources said. Discussions on the fee structure for these categories will also be held. Meanwhile, the Consortium of Medical Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) has announced that its undergraduate entrance test (UGET) will be held on May 12. COMEDK executive director A.S. Srikanth told The Hindu that applications for the COMEDK UGET, which is also dependent on the Supreme Court verdict, will be invited at least a month before the exam. “By April, we will close the application window,” he said.