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Costly ignorance

This is one example of what can happen if students, especially those pursuing professional courses, do not keep their eyes and ears open to the latest developments.

Diploma holders looking to join engineering courses through the lateral entry system are being virtually taken for a ride by institutes offering coaching for an entrance test that may not be held at all.

Gullible aspirants from places as far away as Raichur, Hubli-Dharwad, Bagalkot and Bellary are shelling out about Rs 3,500 as fees and as much as Rs 7,500 for boarding and lodging in one such institute, without bothering to find out if the common entrance test (CET) is indeed being held for diploma students.

The authorities too seem to be turning a blind eye to such exploitation of students, even as the institutes distribute pamphlets in public places in the City and other places regarding what is on offer.

“CET coaching to diploma students in science, maths and all technical subjects for all branches in Mangalore to get lateral entry into Bachelor of Engineering” - reads the pamphlet (in pic) being given out by an institute.

Not a single case

Over 200 students have already joined the classes conducted by the institute.There are a couple of other such institutes as well in Mangalore, besides a few in Bangalore. Unlike previous years, this year there may not be a CET for diploma holders, according to a guideline issued by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for 2012-13.

When contacted, Siddaiah, Principal Secretary to the Higher Education department, said the department had not announced any exam this year. Rashmi V Mahesh, Executive Director of Karnataka Examinations Authority, said students seeking lateral entry to engineering courses may be selected on the basis of the marks they secure in their course.

A faculty in a college, on the condition of anonymity, said those who conduct coaching classes were aware that there may not be an examination for lateral entry this year. “As the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are known for quality education, a few ‘education experts’ open coaching classes ‘to help’ students get into engineering courses,” he said.

Many students from North Karnataka enrol for coaching classes with the hope of getting into good engineering colleges, he said.

There are more than 300 polytechnics in Karnataka with an average student strength of 150.

Some of them have a student strength of more than 400. Considering the fact that 40 per cent of the diploma holders take up engineering courses through lateral entry and a majority of them prefer coaching classes for the entrance test, the profit made by the coaching centres runs into a couple of lakhs in just one month.

It is time that the authorities put a check on such coaching centres, before more students fall into the trap.