CET coaching: Smell a rat?
Dec. 16: An inquiry under Right to Information has revealed how funds of the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) are misused by some vested interests in the higher education department in the name of supporting poor, rural students.
The RTI query revealed that for just 40 classes and a mock test for 13,000 rural students, the KEA spent a whopping Rs 11.53 crore in the last academic year under the CET rural coaching. If the pass percentage is counted, it means the KEA spent Rs 17,000 per student, which is more than the fees charged by prestigious private coaching classes.
According to the information provided under RTI, in the last academic year the KEA paid Rs 11.53 crore to KEONICS for providing CET coaching for rural students of the state. Some 13,000 students had enrolled for the coaching in 110 centres across the state. However, only 10,195 students gave the exam and 6,444 students were eligible for seats in engineering, medical and dental courses.
Interestingly, even though coaching programme was outsourced for a private firm through Keonics, whole programme was beamed through Edusat network of state government for free of cost!
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior officer of the KEA said it is nothing but a day light robbery. “Programme was inaugurated on Oct. 27, 2010 and classes are started from November. By February-end every thing closed saying final exams. As classes are beamed through Edusat there was no extra expenditure. But KEA forced to pay hefty amount towards contractor,” he said.
“Now efforts are done to show number of qualified students in medical, Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy separately just to increase the number of successful students as senior officials are suspicious about the whole programme,” he said.
But academicians urged the government to order for an enquiry over the whole issue.
Speaking to this newspaper, Rajeshwar Rao K., a retired principal of a PU college said: “For 17,000 private firms give year-long coaching for CET and other national level entrance test. In such a scenario no body know how KEA can incur such a big amount,” he asked.
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