In a major step to protect fairness in college admissions, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has decided to stop students who already have seats in IITs, NITs, or IISc from attending CET counselling for engineering seats in the state. This strong decision comes after the KEA found serious misuse of student data during the CET 2024 counselling process. Several students reported that their login details were used without permission to block seats. Some of these students were already admitted into top national institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
Seat Blocking Scam Uncovered
According to KEA officials, 53 students approached the authority last year and said they had not made any choices during the counselling process. Yet, seats were allotted in their name. On deeper investigation, KEA found that five students involved had already joined IITs or NITs, suggesting a pattern of seat blocking.
Even more worrying was the discovery that the IP addresses of over 2,000 candidates had been misused, raising concerns about digital security and manipulation.
What is Seat Blocking?
Seat blocking happens when students who already have confirmed admissions in top colleges still take part in counselling for other institutions. They block seats, making them unavailable for other deserving candidates. Later, these students either don’t join the blocked college or drop out, leaving the seats vacant and wasting valuable resources.
KEA’s New Rule for CET Counselling 2025
To stop this problem, KEA is bringing in strict rules for the upcoming CET 2025 counselling.
“We are going to request central agencies to share details of students who have already joined IITs and NITs. Once they are confirmed there, we will not allow them to take part in CET counselling,” said H. Prasanna, Executive Director of KEA.
Since KEA already handles NEET counselling, it has data for students joining medical and dental colleges. But for engineering admissions, KEA now wants updated data from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts JEE.
“JEE counselling happens around June and July, but our CET process runs till September or October. So we’ll have time to compare records and stop ineligible students,” Prasanna added.
New Safety Features to Stop Fraud
KEA is also introducing new identity verification methods in CET 2025 to make the process safer and more transparent. Some of the upcoming changes include:
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Facial Tagging System: Every student must collect a confirmation slip from KEA, visit the allotted college in person, show their face, enter an OTP, and then receive the admission ticket from the principal.
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Payment Before Option Entry: Students must pay a fee before choosing colleges and courses. This helps KEA trace students through their bank details if any misuse happens.
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Special Monitoring Cell: KEA is planning to set up a dedicated team to monitor students involved in seat blocking. They will also keep an eye on students applying for related courses like nursing, which are sometimes used in similar scams.
KEA believes this move will make the college admission process fairer and safer for all students. By blocking students who already have confirmed seats in top national institutes, they are trying to stop those who misuse the system and deny opportunities to deserving candidates.
This decision is expected to help reduce vacant seats, improve transparency, and build trust among students and parents.
