Sitting for any exam on a good day is harrowing enough; imagine doing that amid a pandemic, and that too when you are Covid-19 positive.
But that’s what 63 students did, taking the crucial Karnataka Common Entrance Test (K-CET) despite being sickened by the deadly pathogen. On Friday, when the K-CET results were announced, many had reason to cheer as they scored ranks between 150 and 200.
The students also applauded the government for allowing them to write the exam.
“I had almost given up hope on K-CET as I had tested positive a few days before the exam,” said a student, whose family requested DH not to name him. “However, the government did not discriminate and allowed us to write the exams. Today, I am happy that I have secured a good ranking and plan to pursue aeronautical engineering.”
Talking about the experience, another student said it was “not an easy task for invigilators to wear a PPE kit and watch us write exams”. “I really appreciate the invigilators who helped us write the exams comfortably,” said the student who was ranked within 150.
Continuing, the student said his “father was in a critical state” at that time. “Also, I was unsure of whether I would reach the exam centre as I had tested positive. None could drive me to the centre. But my principal helped me by informing the district administration who arranged for the transport,” said the student.
Another student — who has been ranked within 120 in veterinary and 650 in engineering — said, “The credit for my success goes to all those authorities who made arrangements for me to write the exams all alone in the centre.”
Bengaluru, Mangaluru students bag top ranks
Continuing with the regular trend, students from Bengaluru and Mangaluru bagged the top ranks in the K-CET results, which were announced by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan.
Rakshith M of RV PU College Bengaluru topped the state in the engineering stream, while Varun Gowda AB from Expert PU College Mangaluru secured the first rank in BSc (Agri).
Sai Vivek P of Narayana E Techno School, Bengaluru, secured the first rank in both BVSc (Veterinary) and BPharma/DPharma. In Naturopathy and Yogic sciences category, Arnav Aiyappa PP from Alva’s PU college Moodubidre secured the first rank.
Karnataka witnessed a considerable increase in the number of candidates eligible for the engineering stream.
While 1,40,957 students had qualified for engineering courses last year, this year, a total of 1,53,470 students secured eligibility, an addition of more than 12,000 students.