Students seen submitting documents at a CET 2026 counselling centre in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

As the first round of counselling for engineering and other professional courses is yet to be completed, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) and the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association (KUPECA) have written to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), seeking an extension of the admission deadline for engineering courses till September 15.According to AICTE’s academic calendar, August 1, is the last date for the commencement of classes for first-year students of technical courses, while August 14 is the last date for admissions.In the wake of delays in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2026 and the announcement of its results, the State government conducted Common Entrance Test (CET) counselling first. KEA completed the first round of counselling for professional courses on July 24, 2026, allotting 90,748 engineering seats out of 91,724. However, the second round of counselling is yet to begin.Meanwhile, the first round of COMEDK counselling for engineering colleges under CUPECA will conclude on August 3, 2026. Owing to the NEET re-examination this year, the results were announced late, and the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is yet to commence the first round of NEET counselling. As a result, the provision of medical seat data to the State is expected to be delayed further.Due to this, the State government has decided to allow candidates in all other courses, including medical, dental, AYUSH and engineering, to upgrade their seats up to the third round of CET counselling. In addition, the Department of Medical Education is yet to provide the seat matrix for medical and allied health courses. As a result, it has been decided to conduct the second round of CET counselling and the first round of NEET counselling simultaneously.Speaking to The Hindu, H. Prasanna, Executive Director of KEA, said, “The first round of CET counselling has been completed, and two more rounds are pending, which cannot be completed by August 15. AICTE has announced the academic schedule in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 2012 verdict. However, there have been significant changes in the country’s education sector since then. This year, the results of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 12 examinations were also announced late. Therefore, it is difficult to adhere to the AICTE academic schedule, and a letter has been written seeking an extension of the admission deadline for engineering courses.”Further, he said it had been decided to conduct the first round of NEET counselling and the second round of CET counselling simultaneously for State quota medical seats. However, the MCC is yet to begin NEET counselling for its 15% quota seats. This will delay the provision of seat data to the State, and the State government has also not yet provided the medical seat matrix. “Due to all these reasons, the second and third rounds of CET counselling will be delayed, which is the main reason for writing to AICTE,” he added. Published - July 28, 2026 08:17 pm IST