The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has approved changes in the rules for admissions into professional courses through the sports quota after the Common Entrance Test (CET) from the next academic year.
The Sports Department of the State has already submitted a report on the revised sports quota, according to which only students who have officially represented the State or country, will be considered in the sports quota.
The matter was discussed in detail at the Governing Council meeting of the KEA held under the chairmanship of M.C. Sudhakar, Minister of Higher and Technical Education on Thursday. It was decided to revise the existing sports quota rules per the 2006 rules.
There are seven seats in medical, five in dental and 165 in engineering that are available through the sports quota. Till now, achievements from classes 8 to 12 were considered.
However, according to the new rules, participation in the previous three financial years, including the year when the student is attempting the CET, will be taken into account, and the two best performances will be considered.
Candidates who have medal/participation in World Cup/Para World Cup, World Championships, Asian Games/Para Asian Games, Commonwealth Games/Para Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships, Youth Olympics will be eligible under sports quota for the professional courses.
The Olympic/Paralympic gold medal will fetch a maximum of 100 points. Participation in the Olympic/Paralympic will secure 97 points. In events like world and Asian Championships, only sports disciplines included in Olympic, Asian, Common Wealth Games will be included. Sports that do not figure at the Olympics, Asian Games, or Commonwealth Games will be considered too but will get the least points.
The list of sports disciplines will remain dynamic and also include sports disciplines introduced in the previous Olympics, Asiad, or CWG, officials said.
Additional building for KEA
Meanwhile, redesigning the KEA building and construction of an additional building were discussed in the meeting. It was agreed to take up the construction work at an approximate cost of ₹33 crore.
It was also decided to introduce a “passport office like system” at its premises for the benefit of students who walk in during the counselling for various professional courses every year. Facilities like digital boards to display information and also a separate waiting lounge for students and parents who have grievances or visits for document verification will be provided.
“We will introduce a system where students and parents can get pre-booked online appointments and meet the official concerned to avoid inconveniences. We also approved changes in the rules of sports quota. With the existing rules, even if a student of class VIII participated in a particular sport for a few days and won a medal, it used to be considered for quota. This will be changed here on,” Dr. Sudhakar said.
Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, KEA Executive Director S. Ramya and others were present in the meeting.
