Beware of fraudsters claiming to secure medical seats, warns Karnataka Examinations Authority

Karnataka's education authorities have issued a stern warning against fraudsters preying on students and parents during the medical seat allocation process. The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) emphasized that all government, management, NRI, dental, medical, and AYUSH course seats within the state will be allocated solely through its official counselling process. This comes amid reports of individuals falsely claiming to secure medical seats outside the formal system, prompting KEA to urge caution among applicants. KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna addressed concerns raised by students and parents regarding unauthorized claims by third parties offering to secure management and NRI quota seats. These quotas, though allowing private medical colleges to set their own fee structures, are not under their control for seat allocation. Instead, KEA maintains exclusive authority over the distribution of these seats, both in government and private institutions. Prasanna stressed that anyone purporting to offer alternative pathways is engaging in deceptive practices aimed at exploiting vulnerable candidates. According to KEA, 15% of seats in government medical colleges are allocated nationally via the National Medical Commission (NMC), while the remaining 85% are handled by KEA. Additionally, all seats in private medical colleges and private universities operating in Karnataka are entirely managed through the KEA process. Seat allocations are determined strictly based on candidates' rankings from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Once KEA receives the official NEET results, it will provide a platform for candidates to associate their NEET roll numbers with their Common Entrance Test (CET) applications. Following this integration, candidates will need to download their verification slips. The state-level medical counselling process will commence only after the NMC finalizes its national counselling schedule. In the interim, prospective students are encouraged to review historical seat allotment data accessible on the KEA website to gauge their chances of admission based on their NEET rankings. Following the receipt of NEET data, KEA plans to publish a state-wide merit list of eligible candidates with Karnataka domicile, ordered by their NEET scores. Those who have not yet submitted applications for medical courses will receive an additional window to apply, along with scheduled document verifications. Regarding pharmacy courses, Prasanna noted that the seat matrix is still pending. Once available, candidates will be able to input their preferences prior to the second round of seat allocation. Students aiming to pursue medical or pharmacy courses were advised to select Choice-2 if they are assigned a seat in the initial round but intend to remain eligible for subsequent rounds, potentially securing a more favorable institution or program. This guidance aims to ensure that candidates retain flexibility in their admissions journey while adhering to the structured processes established by KEA.