Karnataka CET exam to go online from 2017

The latest news about the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (CET) is that it will go online from the next academic year (2017-18). The CET is for admission to under-graduate professional courses in the state and now the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has decided to take it online.

Sources in the KEA have told The New Indian Express that since 2016, all the procedures have moved online, including the document verification. Thus, they are now looking at conducting the CET online as well. The KEA is said to be contemplating on having the CET both online and offline for the first year and then moving completely online, adds the report.

The daily quotes a KEA official as saying that one of their major concerns in implementing the online test is managing rural students, as most students who take the CET are from rural Karnataka. 

Since those who attempt the CET also take the IIT-JEE and CAT which are online, the KEA officials believe that taking the CET online would be beneficial. According to the report, if the Karnataka government approves this proposal, then mock tests will be held for students in the first-year Pre University Course to help familiarise them with the new system.

An official has been quoted as saying that they got negative feedback initially when they introduced CET course coaching on Doordarshan, but now it's very successful and lakhs of students benefit from the programme.