Common Entrance Test repeaters’ PU scores won’t be considered: Karnataka minister CN Ashwath Narayan

BENGALURU: The 24,000 Common Entrance Test (CET) repeaters from 2021, who re-appeared for the examination to improve their rankings, won’t see any respite from the government. Higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday said the Karnataka Examinations Authority’s (KEA) decision to consider only their CET marks, as has been the case with their fellow students, will stand.
“Considering these students passed their PU exams along with 1.5 lakh other candidates who have secured their rankings in the 2021 examination based only on their CET scores, we cannot consider only the repeaters’ PU scores as it will open a Pandora’s box,” the minister said.

According to him, the primary reason for the government supporting the KEA decision is that if the PU scores of CET repeaters are considered alongside those who passed the qualifying examinations this academic year, it would be unfair to both the 1.5 lakh students who secured their rankings solely on CET scores in 2021 and another 1.5 lakh who secured their rankings along with the PU marks this academic year.
“It will be completely unfair to both sets of applicants, who have appeared for CET in 2021 and 2022. The only thing I can say to these CET repeaters is to swallow the bitter pill and accept the rankings accorded to them,” he said.
The minister said there was no dearth of engineering seats for the aspirants as no less than 20,000 government-quota seats had lapsed for lack of takers in the last academic year.
“Even if their rankings have fallen, there is no dearth of available seats. Seats are available across streams and even more under ComedK,” he claimed.
Covid year exception
Usually, CET ranks are determined by giving equal weightage to II PU and CET marks. However, in 2021, II PU exams were cancelled due to Covid-19. The marks were instead calculated based on students’ SSLC and I PU results, and internal assessment. CET ranks were, therefore, determined only based on CET marks.
But with II PU exams held for the 2022 academic year, the ranks of fresh candidates were announced based on both II PU and CET marks. However, for CET repeaters (those who completed II PU in 2021), only the CET marks were taken into account, citing that they did not have a PU exam to be taken into account.
The repeaters, despite improving their CET scores in 2022, realised their ranks dropped drastically as the PU marks weren’t considered. Since then, they have been demanding a common ground for calculating CET ranks.