BANGALORE: Opting out of the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA), the Karnataka Private Medical and Dental Colleges' Association (KPMDCA) has submitted to the State Government the draft of an alternative agency to facilitate merit-based admission to undergraduate medical, dental and engineering colleges in the State.

The proposed agency, the association said, would be financially and administratively independent and decide who gets into the government, government-aided and private professional colleges.

The association said that the KEA, announced through a government order on December 20, was only the Common Entrance Test (CET) called by another name. The KEA had only a "notional, inconsequential" representation of private colleges, although the private institutions had the majority of seats.

Proposed agency

The agency's promoters will include two nominees of the KPMDCA, two nominees of the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association, one nominee from the Karnataka Linguistic and Religious Minority Colleges Association and three representatives nominated by the Government.

The promoters will constitute an 11-member Board of Directors, comprising two nominees each from KPMDCA, KUPECA, one nominee from the KLRMCA, two officials nominated by the Government and three eminent academicians/experts in Human Resource Development or any other related field selected jointly by the presidents of KPMDCA and KUPECA and government representatives.

The Board of Directors will formulate the guidelines for the agency to ensure fair and transparent conduct of a test to determine the relative merit of students; prepare a rank list for admission and to hold counselling for admission to various colleges and courses. A board chairman will be selected for a tenure of three years and he will be eligible for a second term.

The board will also select an executive director, an eminent and competent person experienced in handling admission test and counselling, and decide the terms of his appointment, duties and responsibilities.

The promoters will provide the initial resources for commencement of the agency's operations. Thereafter, the agency will generate its own resources through the fees charged to students taking the entrance test. The board will decide how the surplus funds are utilised, but primarily the funds will be used for welfare of deserving students and to upgrade the quality of the faculty of constituent colleges.

Any consensual agreement for concessions in fees for certain deserving categories, and the allocation of seats between different groups will be outside the purview of the agency. This will be separately decided by the presidents of the KPMDCA and KUPECA and the Government.

The right of admission and determination of a fair and reasonable fee without profiteering will rest with the respective colleges in respect of unaided institutions and with the government in respect of government and aided institutions.

The KPMDCA wanted the Government to ensure that even the minority colleges are included in the proposed agency.

On the KEA, the KPMDCA maintained that it should be confined to admissions to Government institutions and seats that may be made over to the Government by the private colleges.

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