June 17 was the last date to apply for the PGCET-2024 online application for the entrance to post-graduate engineering and other courses. But, candidates were struggling to apply due to technical glitches in the online application portal of the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), promoting an extension of the deadline.
PGCET is the gateway to M.E., M.Tech, M.Arch (Architecture), MBA and MCA courses. On May 27, KEA had invited online applications. June 17 was the last date for applying.
Till June 17, 34,212 online applications — 21,026 for MBA courses, 9,961 for MCA and 4,344 applications for ME/M.Tech/M.Arch courses — had been received.
However, for the last three days, the KEA online application portal has been dogged by technical problems, and candidates are struggling to apply.
Trilok, a student, said, “June 17 is the last date to apply for the PGCET exam. I have been trying to submit the application for the past three days, but have not been able to. I have also been unable to upload documents, including Revenue Documents (RD) number. Calling the KEA helpline is of no use, as Sunday and Monday were government holidays.”
Pramod G.S., another candidate, said, “Unable to fill PGCET online application completely. Portal hangs again and again. Because of this, we are worried that we will miss the exam this time. The application submission date should be extended.”
H. Prasanna, Executive Director, KEA told The Hindu that there has been a problem with PGCET-2024 online application submission due to the server of the Revenue Department being down for the last three days.
“Candidates applying for reservation are required to mention the RD number of caste and income certificate. The RD numbers are verified with the Revenue Department’s backend data. However, the Revenue Department’s server has been down for the last three days. Hence, it has been decided to extend the online application deadline to June 20 while the last date for fee payment is June 21,” he said.
No exam centre in Mangaluru
In addition, candidates were irked that there is no PGCET examination centre in Dakshina Kannada district this year.
“Mangaluru is be a major examination centre for State and national-level entrance exams. However, no examination centre has been assigned in Dakshina Kannada district this year for PGCET. Inevitably, Udupi district had to be chosen,” said Bibitha Salian, a candidate from Mangaluru.
Responding to this complaint, Mr. Prasanna said, “Since the number of students registering for the PGCET is less, it is not possible to conduct the examination in all the districts of the state. The exam will be conducted only in select districts. Regarding the coastal districts, an examination centre was announced in Mangaluru by combining three districts — Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada — in previous years. However, this time, Udupi has been made the examination centre. Since Udupi district is in a central location to both Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada districts, it will be more convenient for candidates.”
