Karnataka: Smart tech stumps PG seat scamsters

Bengaluru: It is a lucrative business. Blocking one  post graduate radiology seat sometimes fetches college managements upto Rs 3 crore and agents, Rs 25 lakhs.

While  hundreds of postgraduate seats in several medical colleges and deemed universities of the state have been sold  for hefty amounts every year through this blocking racket,  the “agents” involved  are likely to become jobless from this year thanks to the unprecedented security arrangements made by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA).

Under an agreement reached by the state government with private medical college associations and deemed universities, the KEA is authorised to fill  all medical and dental post graduate seats in colleges/ deemed universities of the state, except NRI and management quota seats.

And  to put an end to  the seat blocking racket it has made  biometric authentication  compulsory at multiple stages before seat allotment.  Not only will candidates have to undergo biometric verification before registering for the document verification process, but also after the first round of seat allotment process if he or she is satisfied with the allotted seat and is willing to report to the college concerned.

But the verification process does not stop here.  Students, who want to participate in the second round, will have to go in for it once again.
    
Under the KEA rules, all candidates allotted seats in the first round and who opt for choices 2 or 3 and even candidates not allotted seats during the first round must undergo biometric verification. Also, every candidate allotted a seat either in the first or second round will have to undergo it. Only after a student has undergone both the biometric and photo verification will he or she be allowed to submit documents and collect the admission order.

An officer of the state medical education department asserted that with these measures in place it would be impossible to block seats in future. "Biometric verification will put an end to the menace of impersonation and seat blocking,” he said.