KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna. Image: Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has allowed specified categories of candidates who selected Choice-4 in the first and second rounds of medical and dental admissions to participate in the third round, subject to caution-deposit and penalty conditions.
KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna said the decision followed requests from candidates and parents. He also warned applicants against intermediaries promising medical seats and advised them to report such approaches to the nearest police station.
Who can return to the third round?
According to Prasanna, candidates who selected Choice-4 after the provisional results of the first or second round, as well as those who gave up the allotted seat saying they did not want it, may participate after paying the caution deposit.
Candidates who cancelled their seats after the second-round final result and paid the applicable penalty can also participate, he said.
Those who left through Choice-4 without paying the penalty, citing a seat obtained through the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) or in another state, remain barred unless they pay a ₹10,000 penalty, Prasanna said. Such candidates may participate after making that payment.
Restrictions remain for non-reporting candidates
Separately, Prasanna said candidates who did not join the allotted medical college and did not pay the fee would not be allowed to participate in this round. Candidates who had not taken admission to engineering and other allotted courses would also not be permitted to enter options.
The relaxation for the specified Choice-4 and seat-cancellation categories therefore does not amount to an unrestricted reopening of counselling for every candidate who failed to take admission.
Better-seat option comes with a document warning
Prasanna said candidates were being given an opportunity, for the first time, to participate in third-round counselling for a better seat. The provision had not been available earlier and was intended to benefit meritorious candidates, he said.
He urged candidates already admitted to engineering or other courses to exercise caution if they wished to seek a better college. Before entering options, they should confirm how they would obtain their documents from the college where they were currently enrolled, so that they could join a college allotted in the third round.
KEA would arrange prompt refunds of the caution deposit for candidates allotted seats in MCC’s third round, he added.
AYUSH counselling to begin soon
Prasanna said AYUSH counselling had been delayed because the seat matrix was received late. Seat matrices for 70 colleges had now been received, and counselling would begin as soon as possible.
Warning against middlemen
Candidates and parents should be wary of anyone offering to secure a medical seat through an intermediary, Prasanna said. He advised them to lodge a complaint at the nearest police station against such persons.
About the Author
