BSc Nursing aspirants have to attempt CET this time in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Students aspiring for BSc Nursing will have to write the Common Entrance Test (CET) this year. Students from outside Karnataka may also have to appear for the test for BSc Nursing seats in state colleges.
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) vice-chancellor MK Ramesh said the decision has been taken following instructions from the Indian Council of Nursing. "The council directed all states that admissions should be made only through a common entrance test. The state can decide what test it should be. This is basically to ensure quality of the students joining the course," he explained.
Until now, admissions were made through Karnataka Examinations Authority depending on the students' II PU marks. In private colleges, around 20% seats are for government quota. KEA used to conduct counselling for these seats. There are around 40,000 seats in 200 nursing colleges across the state.
The time slot for CET applications has been closed. "We will reopen it for nursing aspirants. However, we are yet to finalise the case of non-Karnataka students. If they are to appear for CET, we will have to modify the application form. We are working on it and will most likely open the slot on Monday," said Ramya S, KEA executive director. When the slot for applying is reopened, KEA could give a chance to engineering students who have missed out on the opportunity to apply.
If non-Karnataka students have to write CET, they might have to travel to the state. KEA is proposing to hold the test only in Bengaluru centres for students from other states. "We still don't have an idea of the number of non-Karnataka students who are likely to take the test; it could be up to 10,000," said Ramya.