CET and NEET: 26,555 seats in professional courses remain unallocated in Karnataka for 2025–26
Bengaluru: Despite the ongoing admission process for the academic year 2025–26, a total of 26,555 professional course seats remain unallocated in Karnataka due to different reasons, including the option entry with emphasis on only limited colleges.
Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) announced the final results of the first round of seat allotments on August 2. Of the 1,35,954 seats available across various professional programs, including engineering, medicine, nursing, and allied health sciences, only 1,09,399 have been allotted so far, The Hindu reported.
A major chunk of the unallocated seats belongs to the B.Sc. Nursing program. Out of 31,726 seats available, only 15,186 were filled, leaving 16,540 vacant. In engineering, 5,327 seats remain unfilled out of a total of 77,140, while in medical courses, 942 out of 9,263 seats are yet to be allotted. Additionally, 1,329 seats remain unclaimed in the B.Sc. Allied Health Sciences category.
According to a KEA official, many students selected only four to five top colleges as their preferred options without verifying their ranks or the cutoff marks, hoping to secure a seat in those institutions.
“Due to minimum number of colleges being selected, thousands of students, despite having good rank in Common Entrance Test (CET), have not got a seat in any college. In the wake of such option entry with emphasis on limited colleges, when the mock allotment result was announced, about 51,935 students were not allotted a seat in any college,” The Hindu quoted the official as saying.
Seats under special category quotas, including rural, Kannada medium, and NRI quotas, have also remained largely unallocated.
KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna emphasised the importance of broadening college preferences during option entry. “Since students have given option entry to only a limited number of colleges, the number of seats remaining unallotted ranges between 35% and 40%. We have been advising students to give option entry to more colleges since the beginning, but they have not followed it. Otherwise, seats under various quotas remain unallotted due to non-availability of candidates. For example, most of the seats remaining unallotted in medical seats are NRI quota seats,” The Hindu quoted Prasanna as saying.
He added that unallotted seats from the first round would be included in the second and third rounds of option entry. Category-specific vacant seats will be converted to general merit seats in the final round to maximise seat allotment.
“For example, if there are no candidates available for rural and Kannada medium quota seats, those seats will be converted into general merit seats. SC/ST rural quota seats will be converted into SC/ST regular seats, and option entry will be given. This will fill almost all the seats,” he explained.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Smriti Mandhana named BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year for 2025
New Delhi (PTI): Star batter Smriti Mandhana, who played a pivotal role in India's historic 2025 Women's World Cup triumph, was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year for 2025 at a glittering function here on Monday.
Chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh won the Emerging Player of the Year award, for her historic FIDE Women's World Cup triumph at just 20.
Preethi Pal was named the Para-Sportswoman of the Year, for winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in track and field, while Anjali Bhagwat was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her pioneering career as India's first woman shooter to reach an Olympic final and her trailblazing success on the world stage.
Mandhana, who is currently touring Australia with the Indian team for multi-format bilateral assignments, said in a video message: "Thank you BBC for giving me the awardfor Best Sportswoman of the Year. 2025 was a special year for women's cricket, especiallytowards the end we had a World Cup and I'm happy I could contribute and help India win matches.".
At 29, the left-handed batter is already among the game's greats, with the second-highest number of centuries in women's One Day Internationals and ranking third in total runsscored among current players worldwide.
Hailing from Sangli city in Maharashtra, the affable Mandhana was inspired by her father and brother, both of whom played cricket at the district level.
In September last year, she made a 50-ball hundred against Australia – the fastest 50 over international ton (men and women) by an Indian in the format, breaking Virat Kohli's record.
The award winners were decided by a distinguished grand jury comprising Leander Paes, Deepa Malik, and Anju Bobby George.
Praising the athletes' achievements CEO of BBC News, Jonathan Munro said: "Congratulations to this year's winners who showcase the very best in sporting excellence. The BBC World Service is committed to bringing such stories of human endeavour and outstanding success to audiences across India and around the world.".
Additionally, the ceremony also celebrated a wide spectrum of talent and impact, recognizing star performers and changemakers for redefining the landscape of Indian sport.
BBC Star Performers of the Year 202.
• Indian Women's Cricket Team: for their historic World Cup victory.
• Ekta Bhyan, Deepthi Jeevanji and Preethi Pal: for their trailblazing performances at the World Para Athletics Championship.
• Indian Women's Cricket Team for the Blind: for their inspiring World Cup victory.
• Indian Women's Kabaddi Team: for their smashing victory in World Cup.
.
BBC Changemakers of the Year 202.
• Indian Women's Ice Hockey Team: for breaking barriers in a non-traditional sport.
• Rajbir Kaur: Indian field hockey player and former captain of the women’s national team.
• Savita Punia: Indian field hockey player and current member of the national team.
• Paani Devi: recognised for her impactful contribution to grassroots sport.
