KCET: Heat takes toll on students, parents

Bengaluru: The difficulty level of questions that appeared for Physics and Chemistry papers of the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) on Thursday might have been moderate, but battling the heat during the 150 minute gap between the two exams proved to be a major challenge for many.

Aspiring engineers waiting outside exam centres, some with their parents and siblings, felt the heat was unbearable and voiced their distress. 

“Finding some shade to sit and prepare for the afternoon session when hundreds of other candidates are also around is really challenging,” said Deepika, a candidate.

Ravikumar Sharma, hailing from Kasturi Nagar felt that a single paper comprising questions from all sections would have been better.

Harish N., a parent who was waiting outside the exam hall, said they found it worse as they had to spend more time around the premises.

“Some were seen taking shelter at nearby hotels while another group ‘carpooled’. 

A room or even a portico which can be arranged for people like us, in future, can be helpful,” he said.

Questions free from error
Unlike the questions set for Biology and Mathematics papers on Wednesday, candidates and subject experts found no ambiguities among Physics and Chemistry questions.

Viswanath Karki, a candidate from Gangamma Circle found the Physics paper easy as all questions were from the NCERT syllabus. 

“Most of the questions took lesser time than expected and thus I could complete answering much ahead of the final bell,” he said.

Analysing the paper, Prof. Rathnakar KG, HoD of Physics Department at BASE, felt that the number of numerical-based questions were more than last year.

“Even though questions were spread across prescribed topics, around 50% of them had to do with numericals,” he said. With 55% of the questions at the moderate difficulty level, a prepared candidate can easily score more than 80%, he added.

Analysing the Chemistry paper, Dr Milind, Vice President, Deeksha said that no major changes were found in the pattern of questions set. 

With only six questions requiring candidates to do calculations, one could easily complete answering within the stipulated time, he said.

Appreciating student-specific OMR answer sheets distributed for the first time ever during KCET, Deepak K.C., a candidate said, “This helps us to stay free from tension while filling in our details. A mistake at the beginning might affect our confidence for the entire exam, but this has made our job easier; for valuation as well I suppose.”

According to the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) which conducted KCET 2018, 97.15% and 97.13% of the registered candidates appeared for Physics and Chemistry papers respectively.