The Hindu
Bangalore, May 26: This year, the boys outdid the girls in the race to professional college admissions in Karnataka. Only three girls made it to the top 10 slots for engineering and medical/dental in the all-important Common Entrance Test 2009, the yardstick for admissions to professional colleges in Karnataka. However, girls dominated the architecture list.
Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) Executive Director S G Hegde announced that of the 1.16 lac students who took the test, 62,275 engineering ranks, 10,914 medical ranks and 42,152 Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISMH) have been allotted. About 1.15 lac students appeared for engineering stream and 83,964 for medical, while 1.16 lac placed their bets on both streams.
Interestingly, all the three top rank holders in the medical/dental category confessed that their hearts lay in an engineering career. While medical list topper from Mangalore Anish Bhat secured 18th rank in engineering also, the second rank holder Ullas P. from Bangalore beat him to the 17th rank in engineering. An excited Ullas told The Hindu that he was looking at studying Electronics and Communication Engineering. “I studied hard and attended coaching regularly. I am extremely happy I also stood 559 in IIT. I would like to make it to IIT Madras.”
Engineering
Two classmates, who studied together, secured the first and second spot in engineering. Sri Satya Sai Lokseva PU College (Mangalore) students Naveen Bhat Y and Yashwant Marathe are keen on the National Institute of Technology in Surathkal. “I am elated,” said Naveen. Second-rank holder Yashwant could not be contacted but his proud father, Padmakar Marathe, told The Hindu that hearing the news was an emotional experience. The architecture list was dominated by girls with Priyanka Dharamshi from Chetan PU Science College, Hubli, topping the list.
Subsidies
Higher Education Minister Arvind Limbavalli, who addressed presspersons on the KEA premises, reiterated that this year too, interest rates above 6 per cent for students would be waived. “We are also planning to set up a committee where private charitable organisations will come together to ensure that no poor student is denied education.”