Even as they wait for their II PU results, students, who attended the Common Entrance Test (CET) on Monday, found the Maths paper difficult to crack.

Two days ahead of the announcement of II PU results, the students appeared for CET at 12 centres across the city. They said Biology paper was "easy", but not Maths, which was a tough nut to crack. "Biology was easy, but I faced difficulty with Maths paper," Sneha L K, a student of the JSS College for Women, told source. However, that has not dent Sneha's confidence. She is all set to crack the other two papers -- Physics and Chemistry -- on Tuesday.

Sagar M from Maharaja's PU College too endorsed Sneha's view on the Monday's papers. "I feel Physics paper will be tough," he said. Yashaswini C R from the Sadvidya College said that she could do well as she had focussed on it and worked really hard. "I've performed well in both the papers. Hope everything goes well on Tuesday too," she said, keeping her fingers crossed.

However, there were some students like Rakshith L Y who didn't bother much about Maths. He said: "I'd concentrated more on Biology and have performed well. I'm not bothered about Maths. I just want to perform well in Physics and Chemistry," he said.

In all, 5,111 out of 6,894 students took the Biology test in the 12 centres. But there were no absentees in Maths. The tests were held between 10.30am and 11.50am (Biology) and between 2.30pm and 3.50pm (Maths). The Tuesday's test timings are as follows: 10.30am-11.50am (Physicls) and 2.30pm-3.50pm (Chemistry).

Police security has been beefed up with prohibitory orders being clamped in 200-metres radius around the centres for the tests. Photocopying centres near the test centres have been directed to down shutters.

Source: TOI

Read More About Karnataka Common Entrance Test

The Common Entrance Examination (CET) board is providing online counselling facilities to students who make the cut in the entrance test. The students can choose their favourite course and institution on the website itself, in the comfort of their home.

This unconventional method of counselling is implemented only in the All India Engineering Examination (AIEEE). The responses of students who spoke  ranged from positive, negative and ambivalent to even bewilderment.

Amala Poli, second PU (PCMB), Mount Carmel College: Online counselling will be more convenient to us. It will save time as we don't have to wait in long queues during the counselling sessions. Moreover, we will get frequent updates about the selection and waiting lists and the chances of student's selection in a desired institution.

However, if online counselling is not planned properly, it will cause chaos and confusion. I prefer online counselling, as just visiting the website at home is more cosy than going to college and waiting there.

Chitra Patil, second PU (PCME), Oxford PU College: It is good now that there is an option for online counselling. Students will have all the details and updates available at their home itself. But this news doesn't help people like me, who don't have Internet access at home.

I would prefer face-to-face counselling, which is more interactive, over online counselling. And we can express our doubts to the panellists in their presence. Interacting with students in the counselling hall can also be helpful.

Bharat Kumar, second PU (PCME), Oxford PU College: This is good news. In this fast-paced world where everyone irrespective of profession wants to manage time perfectly, time management becomes important, which online counselling provides.

This is a good move by the CET board, as online counselling is going to ease my selection of the college. I can surf through the information of the college before I select it.

For me there is not a single disadvantage in this facility as it will help students get rid of the chaotic tediousness of face-to-face counselling.

Arun Thomas, second PU (PCME), St. Joseph PU College: I feel the conventional face-to-face counselling works well now, and there is no need for online counselling.

Access to information in online counselling is limited, and it won't be able to rectify all the confusion and doubts of the process like face-to-face counselling.

Moreover, the experience and information one can get from interactions with a panellist is far better than online counselling.

If I have to choose one among the two, irrespective of the advantages of online counselling, I definitely will opt for the existing method.

Derrick Thomas, second PU (PCMB), St. Joseph PU College: Online counselling will definitely be advantageous. I will be able to select my choice of college in my house after considering real-time suggestions from parents and friends. Also, there have been some loopholes in the counselling involving going to colleges as colleges block seats and then sell them to students or even force the students to take admission in their colleges.

Online counselling is simple, time saving, less laborious and more effective in terms of the result. And the best part is that there will be updates frequently.

Source: The Hindu

Well into the first week of January, the confusion surrounding medical admissions this year persists. While private colleges have issued the formal schedule for the entrance test conducted by the COMED-K (Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental colleges of Karnataka), the State Government is yet to notify its schedule. However, news reports have been repeatedly pointing to the possibility of a common centralised entrance this year.

Despite the State Government's assurances that the new proposal will be shelved, in December, when the Union Government appealed to the Supreme Court seeking an extra year to implement the court order to conduct a centralised entrance for medical exams (termed the National Eligibility Entrance Test in the Medical Council of India notification), the apex court expressed its displeasure.

The Court, in effect, has refused to pass an order extending the time for conducting the exam. While it has not been made clear by the Central Government what course it will pursue following the Court order, in its plea it had attributed the inability to conduct the common exam to the reluctance of State Governments. Karnataka and other States have sought more time to shift from a State entrance to a centralised one.

Disparity

While some have done so on grounds of disparity in syllabus, others have vaguely proposed that it puts students at a disadvantage. Of course, the MCI has repeatedly pointed out that if colleges implement the NCERT syllabus, it should not be a problem as every State will have individual State lists. However, in Karnataka, the Pre-University college syllabus does not follow the NCERT syllabus, and academics claim that the disparity between the recommended syllabus and the one colleges follow is as high as 40 per cent. The State has asked for a year's time to “upgrade” its syllabus.

However, all this dilly-dallying over the examination has caused much confusion and anxiety among students and parents. As Chaitra Hudligi, a II PUC student from Bangalore, points out, the medical admission process is a “highly competitive and stressful” affair. “Right from the beginning of the year they told us that there is going to be a central exam. At my coaching centre, they first taught us the CBSE syllabus so that we can write the central exam. Mid-way they said that the CET may be there after all,” she explains. She points out that while the subjects are the same, the treatment of questions (particularly in Physics and Chemistry) is different. Another student, Vijeesh Kumar, who will take the exam for the second time this year, explains that last year his preparation for the AIPMT (All India Pre-Medical Test) was indeed different from the format of the CET. “One cannot say that the CET is very simple. But the style of questioning is certainly different.”

Coaching centres too have been finding the uncertainty difficult. They stand to lose if one exam replaces the plethora of medical entrances that students study for. And the uncertainty over the 2012 exam too is affecting them.

Last option

A lecturer at a Bangalore coaching centre, K. Prasad, says that students are “worried” and “frustrated” over the lack of certainty. “Basically it is the State syllabus students who need special coaching to gear up for a centralised examination. Some coaching centres are also thinking of providing crash courses or refresher courses in case the NEET is held this year. But all this should have been sorted out well in advance,” a coaching centre representative said on condition of anonymity. She added that the government too woke up too late to this problem. “The MCI notification was issued in February. What were State Governments waiting for till November,” she asked.

Source: The Hindu

Kerala Engineering Medical Entrance Examination (KEAM) 2012 notification is out; KEAM 2012 will commence on April 23, 2012. The schedule for KEAM 2012 is as below:

Read About KEAM 2012

Directorate of Technical Education, Mumbai has made an announcement on the rescheduled date, MAH – MBA / MMS – CET 2012 which was supposed to be held on Sunday, 26th February,2012 according to the previous notification is now planned for 11 March 2012 (Sunday).

MAH CET is an entrance test for admission to AICTE approved full time MBA / MMS / PGDBM / PGDM Courses. The detail notification regarding availability of Information Brochure, filling up on-line CET Application form, Eligibility Criteria etc. will be announced in January 2012.

Read About MAH CET