Thousands of Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) aspirants across Karnataka are struggling to complete their option entry due to persistent server failures on the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) portal.
With the last date for submitting college preferences set as July 15, students demanded either an immediate resolution of technical glitches or an extension of the deadline, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Following numerous complaints, the KEA has extended the last date till July 18.
Mohan (name changed), who appeared for KCET this year, said the issue began as soon as the option entry link was sent by KEA on the midnight of July 8. Since then, he and many others have been unable to access the portal properly:
“I sat from 10.30 am to 10 pm at a cyber center, and I could only enter 17 colleges. The server either keeps crashing or goes under maintenance. Today (Friday) again, we came at 10 am as officials had promised the server would be stable. But by 2 pm, they said it was still under maintenance. Then they postponed it to 6 pm.”
He added that his father and another family friend took leave from work to accompany him, while others, like Revathy (name has been changed), even skipped work for two days to help students complete the process.
“No company or private school gives continuous leave. People are doing all this just to complete this one form. And still, the site doesn’t work,” she said.
The issue is not limited to one location. Mohan said he has received calls from his friends across Karnataka including Bengaluru, Hassan, and other districts reporting the same problem.
“More than 1 lakh students' future is being affected, including my son’s,” said a parent.
Frustration is growing among students and parents. “The helpline number is useless. They say the call is being forwarded, but nobody answers. Even when I went to the KEA center in Malleshwaram, they gave wrong information, and I nearly missed my document verification deadline,” Mohan added.
“None of my friends in my school have been able to complete the process due to server glitch, and I really hope KEA would do something to help us out,” said Diya (name changed), another student.
Responding to this KEA Director H Prasanna stated that KEA has disabled optional entry temporarily due to glitch at the data centre. “There is no need for parents or students to panic. We will release a revised timetable and extend the cutoff date. Time is sufficient and we will ensure that students are given adequate opportunity to complete their option entry. Once the system is back online, we will inform all students concerned through WhatsApp messages and updates on our website," he said.
Prasanna also suggested that students are required to prepare a priority list by the time the final seat matrix is provided and keep it ready for entry once the portal is accessible. "This will help reduce the load on the portal caused by many users being logged in for long periods, thereby improving access for everyone," he explained, according to the report by The New Indian Express.
"The mock allotment results will be released on July 21, and the final allotment results will be announced on July 28," he added.
