Mangaluru: Diploma Common Entrance Test (D-CET) for diploma students seeking lateral entry into engineering colleges will be held on July 3, 2016, informs a notification dated 16.5.2016,published by Karnataka Examinations Authority.
However, parents and students who are aware, that, the All India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi (AICTE) has been stating in its guidelines for admissions, in the Approval Process Handbook year after years for many years till now, that there is no necessity for entrance test for Diploma students, are questioning the legal grounds on which the state government has been holding these Diploma Common Entrance Test (D-CET).
It may be recalled that in May 2012, Government had passed an order stating that there will be no entrance test for, after Rashmi V. Mahesh, the then Chief Executive officer, Karnataka Examination Authority, wrote to the Government citing the All India Council for Technical Education, guideline in Approval Process Handbook 2012-13. The then Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education Siddaiah had said, that there would be no entrance test for Diploma students that year giving relief to students.
Following this, a coaching mafia in Mangalore enrolled nearly 950 candidates, and hired the entire campus of an Engineering college (Affiliated to VTU) at Neermarga, Mangalore. In spite of the order of the Government, that there will be no CET for Diploma students, this coaching mafia went ahead in conducting coaching for CET.
The then Chief minister, D.V.Sadananda Gowda who was also Minister for Higher Education, during his maiden visit to Mangalore as CM said that the decision on conducting the D-CET would be taken after an officials’ meet.
Some of the students after reading news report that there will be no D-CET demanded their money back from the coaching centre, which was being run by a government lecturer in his wife’s name.
Students on conditions of anonymity said that when they questioned the government lecturer about continuing to conduct D-CET coaching class, he had told them in person, that he has prevailed upon the then Higher Education Minister to continue to conduct D-CET, and hence wanted them to seriously continue to prepare for D-CET. Though many of students would have questioned the authenticity, of what he had stated to them, but what he said, turned out to be true, since the then Higher Education Minister and CM, D.V.Sadananda Gowda ordered in June, 2012, to conduct D-CET which was cancelled in May 2012. However, the students enrolled for coaching classes, revolted in the Neermarga campus, demanding their fees back and the video of the same has been uploaded here on the site. The incident was also widely reported in print media, too.
Karnataka Government in 2003, passed an order to conduct D-CET, citing the reason that there were complaints about autonomous polytechnics giving marks liberally to their own students, and hence other students lose merit. According to an official of Directorate of Technical Education, out of 309 Polytechnics in the state, only one is Autonomous and another in Mysore given autonomous status three-years-ago.
When the AICTE guidelines, state this year too, that there is no necessity to hold entrance tests, for Diploma students and the ensuing confusions, it was brought to the notice of Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Bharatlal Meena, who said: “Many private and autonomous Polytechnics, were giving marks liberally to their own students. Hence, “the procedure for admissions for this will be the same as last year”, he added.
After the government passed an order in June 2012 to conduct D-CET, and aggrieved by it, three students, from Dakshina Kannada filed a Writ Petition in High Court of Karnataka, to squash the order of the government to conduct D-CET by submitting many reasons. The court dismissed their petition, stating that, for these three students alone the government will not change its policy. A Writ Appeal was filed to challenge the order made in WP and this again was dismissed, stating that government, wants to give seats to meritorious students and court can’t interfere. But the same year, 1000 students got admissions into Dental courses without writing CET. After notice was issued by Rajiv Gandhi University for Health Sciences (RGUHS), to those students, that they will not be recognized, they had, approached, High Court of Karnataka and filed a Writ petition. Court gave relief to students to continue in their course, by observing, “that if available seats, are more than the candidates, who are otherwise eligible for admissions, holding of entrance test to address their inter se merit would be unnecessary and meaningless”.
Every year thousands of seats go vacant after admissions for lateral entry into engineering is over.
Students and parents opposing D-CET have been seeking lateral admission on the basis of diploma exams alone, and merit list to be made and admissions given. The parents and students point out, that considering diploma marks alone, for admissions, would, save a lot of money and time for the government also. Parents also point out to the coaching mafia for the D-CET, being conducted by the government year after year without any valid reason.
