Days after students, lecturers and parents protested against the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) for asking "out-of-syllabus" questions in the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2024, the state government on Monday formed subject-wise committees to examine the issue. The government also announced that the KEA is allowing students to raise their objections to the questions until April 27. The KCET is conducted for admission to professional courses like engineering technology, bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm), diploma in pharmacy (DPharma), agriculture courses (farm science) and veterinary courses. A statement issued by the higher education department on Monday said, “Pursuant to the exams, many complained that a number of questions from the papers were allegedly out of the syllabus of CET. Representations were also received that many questions were not from the syllabus and that this has affected the students. Demands for providing grace marks or re-conducting the exam were also made. The KEA has allowed students to raise objections to the questions up to April 27. The KEA has been asked to submit a detailed report in this regard to the government.” It added, “In the meantime, the matter has been examined by the government and a committee of experts for each subject has been set up by the government to ascertain the number of questions that are out of the syllabus of CET. The expert committee has been mandated to provide its report immediately.” The government in the statement also said the KEA will act in the interests of the students who have appeared for the CET exam. Based on the report of the expert committee, a further decision will be taken. Many KCET candidates who took to protest at the KEA office in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, complained that nearly 45 questions across four subjects were out of the syllabus. A minimum of 10 questions in biology, 11 in mathematics, nine in physics and 15 in chemistry were out of syllabus, students have complained. While some attribute the issue to lack of coordination between the PU department and KEA on the syllabus aspect, some say it is a "gross negligence" on the part of KEA. Narendra Nayak, secretary of Karnataka Unaided Pre-University College Management Association, said, “I believe this is not due to lack of coordination but gross negligence on the part of KEA. Such a professional authority should have taken care of such lapses effectively. Initially, they did not admit that they were wrong. They only partially admitted their mistake, when students and parents protested in large numbers. We hope that the committee will come up with a comprehensive and effective solution to address the crisis. If not, the aggrieved students and parents will explore legal options.”
