Students irked with Kʼtaka government's decision to increase nursing seats after counselling: Report
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government’s decision to increase nursing course intake and grant recognition to new colleges after the third round of counselling has drawn criticism from students aspiring for nursing seats, who claim they were forced to opt for other courses this year.
The Department of Medical Education approved over 1,500 additional seats across at least 90 nursing colleges, along with recognition for seven new institutions, after the completion of the third round of seat allotment by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA).
Following the approvals, KEA conducted an extended mop-up round to allocate the newly added seats. However, only 350 students were able to attend the extended round seat allotment, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
“The seats left vacant after the extended round of seat allotment will be automatically converted into management,” DH quoted a KEA official as saying.
Several students expressed frustration over the government’s delayed decision. One student shared they had initially wanted to pursue nursing but were compelled to enroll in another course due to the lack of government-quota seats at their preferred college. "Now, the government has added a few more seats to that college," said the student.
Another student pointed out that many aspirants were unaware of the extended round, leaving them unable to switch courses. “There was no information about the extended round. Hence, many of us were forced to take up other courses as there were no seats available at quality nursing colleges. Now, we cannot withdraw admissions as we will not get the refund,” DH quoted one student as saying.
Meanwhile, department officials stated that seat approvals are based on recommendations from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).
Furthermore, KEA authorities acknowledged that similar issues occurred in the previous year’s counselling process. “This was a similar issue even during last year’s seat allotment. Nursing seats were added even after the completion of all the rounds. We were forced to conduct another round, but of no use for students as they had already taken admissions to other courses,” the KEA official said.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
