Karnataka HC's staying of KEA's allotment of seats in mop-up round: Parents, students react

Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, September 20, passed an interim order, staying the allotment of undergraduate (UG) medical seats in the mop-up round to students who have already been allotted a seat in the previous rounds and those who have completed admission formalities by paying the fees.

A petition was filed in the high court against a notification released by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) dated September 14 which allowed students who have already been allotted seats and reported to colleges to participate in the mop-up round.

Ramya S, Executive Director, KEA, told EdexLive, “The notification was released with an intent to help meritorious students who have missed out on government seats in the first two rounds by a few marks. Since there were many vacant seats after the two rounds, KEA decided to allow these students to participate. Now, since the high court has ordered a stay we will not be going ahead with the decision.”

As per the notification, 482 private and 37 government quota seats will remain vacant after the first two rounds of counselling due to unfulfillment of fees.

The petitioners, Mahendra Reddy CN and Hitashree YL, resisted the said notification on the grounds that it is contrary to the general instructions issued by the KEA which prohibits the grant of an option to a candidate who has paid fees and has been admitted.

Students, parents speak…

The notification by KEA received mixed responses from the students. While a few lauded the move saying that it would give priority to meritorious students so that they can have a shot at affordable medical education, others were concerned it would affect the students who are yet to be allotted a seat.

Pramod Choudhary, parent of a medical aspirant in Bengaluru, said “I think the notification was pro-student. If a bright student gained a medical college seat by paying a Rs 6 lakh fee in the first round and he could be allowed to move to a college with Rs 1 lakh fees, it should be done. The high court did not understand the matter completely. Moreover, if a candidate leaves their seat that was allotted in previous rounds, that cancelled seat would be included in the seat matrix so it would not affect other students.”

On the other hand, a few students took their concerns to X (now Twitter) after the notification was released by the KEA on September 14.

“Please take back this decision, as a parent of the child who didn’t get any seats in 1st and 2nd round, those who are waiting desperately for a medical seat. If this prevails then students who didn’t get any seat also should get justice, please look into this matter,” a Twitter user had written.

Students also expressed that since the new notification was introduced in the middle of the counselling process, it is unfair to the non-allotted students.

Now, after the high court order, students who have been allotted seats and reported to the colleges have been barred from the mop-up round of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) counselling. However, this does not apply to those who were unable to pay the fee after being allotted seats in the first few rounds.