To prevent seat blocking, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has made admission compulsory for candidates who got seats in the second round of CET counselling and selected Choice-1.If the candidates who got admission to colleges want to upgrade their seats, they have been given the opportunity to participate in the third round of seat allotment.However, if the candidate selected Choice-1, the declaration of the choice will be appear as, “I am 100% satisfied with the seat allotted in the 2nd round and will join the college, I do not need any change. I also do not want to participate in the next rounds, hence I should not be considered for seat allotment in any of the next rounds. I confirm that I will pay the fee for the seat allotted in the second round, download the Confirmation Slip and then get the OTP through the college portal login by Online Face Recognition, verify the eligibility, download the admit card and get admission within the stipulated date.”How will this work?KEA has announced the final results of the second round of seat allocation for admission to courses, including engineering. The last date for admission is August 28, 2026, and candidates can pay the fee and enroll in the college within the stipulated time.Candidates who have been allotted seats for admission to Engineering, Architecture, Yoga and Naturopathy, Agricultural Science, Veterinary Sciences, B.Sc (Nursing), B-Pharma, Pharm-D, BPT, BPO, Allied Health Science courses, if they wish, can select Choice-1 and pay the fee and get admission in the college. If they do not like the allotted seat, they can select Choice-4 and opt out of the counselling process, KEA said.In addition, if those who have taken admission in the college by choosing Choice-1 are still waiting for a better seat, they can participate in the third round of seat allotment. If they do not select Choice-1 and wish to participate in the third round of counselling, the seat allotted in the second round will have to be cancelled by paying a penalty of ₹5,000. Only after that, KEA will allow candidates to pay a fee and log in with a new registration for the third round.Earlier, candidates who were still waiting for a better seat could participate in the second round by giving Choice-2 along with the seat they got in the first round.If, in the second round, their preferred seat was allotted in a better college, they could leave the first round seat and enroll in the college where they got a seat in the secomd round. If they did not like the seat they got in the second round, they could again give Choice-2 and participate in the third round of counselling.However, officials said some candidates misused this system and waited until the third round to get a seat in a better college but did not enroll, leading to blocking of government quota engineering seats.Seat blocking scamIn 2024-25, the KEA had registered a case against three private colleges for this and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also conducted raids on them. In 2025-26, notices were served to 351 candidates who got government quota seats in the final round but were not admitted to college.Speaking to The Hindu, H. Prasanna, Executive Director, KEA, said, “Regarding the admissions to engineering courses, earlier some candidates used to hold the seats they got in the first and second rounds and come to the third round, get a seat there and cheat without getting admitted to college. This helped in the engineering seat blocking scam. Therefore, to effectively prevent such acts, this time admission has been made compulsory for candidates who get a seat in the second round and have selected Choice-1. Therefore, the candidates should get admission first. Then, they can come for upgradation to the third round.”“During the third round of upgradation, if candidates get a good seat in a good college, there is no need to pay additional fees. Candidates have already paid the college fees to KEA. If candidates have paid hostel fees, skill and other fees to colleges, the college administrations have said that such fees will be refunded” he added.