COMEDK authorities clueless

Even as a press communication from the office of Karnataka’s higher education minister on Wednesday declared the merger of Comed-K and CET competitive exams, those who are on board the consortium are unaware of the developments.

The minister, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, in a press note claimed he chaired a meeting on Wednesday, involving representatives of Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association (KUPECA) following which a decision was made. However, even the CEO of the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) claims to have received no invite for the discussion.

With the merger of these entrance exams at a national level, the eligibility for admission will be based on the ranking students secure in the merged CET and seat sharing will continue as at present. Minister Narayan said that the modalities for merging COMED-K with CET will be worked out as the next course of action.

COMEDK since its inception in 2005 has been an autonomous institution consisting of academicians and administrative officers who have been associated with the educational ecosystem and was entrusted the responsibility to organize testing procedures to determine the merit of aspiring students in an effective, fair, transparent, and non-exploitative procedure by KUPECA and has been associated with 190 engineering colleges.

Dr S Kumar, Executive Secretary, COMEDK said, “This is news to me. How can this be merged without our consent? I have been the Executive secretary of COMEDK since inception. I received no invite. I am also the CEO. Dr M R Jayaram, who is the chairman was not informed either. Dr Panduranga Shetty has been hospitalized. If they call any yes man they find and have a decision made, it is not acceptable by us.”

“He also ruled that there was little knowledge in a government setup on procedures. Any officer of the government who is posted at the higher education department stays for a temporary period. If they want to know the functioning of it, they can find out. Since 2003-04, I have been the executive secretary and there has been no change in position. How can they be caught unaware?” he questioned.  

Fee cap

Following the meeting, the state has also announced that the fee hike for engineering courses has been capped at a 10% as against a demand of 25% by private colleges for the current academic year (2022-23). Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said that the KUPECA agreed not to collect any other fees except a 10% hike on the existing fee. The fee hike is applicable to those students who have been allotted government seats in private engineering colleges. 

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