Date:30/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/30/stories/2006013018150400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

6,685 students take PG entrance test of COMEDK

Staff Reporter

4,191 candidates appear for medical, 2,494 for dental

Only 107 students did not turn up for the test
Biometric system introduced for verification
36 officials from university record the proceedings

Answer keys posted on the website of COMEDK

BANGALORE: As many as 6,685 students appeared for the Post Graduate Entrance Test (PGET) conducted in the city on Sunday by the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) for admission to medical and dental postgraduate courses in its member colleges.

In all, 4,191 candidates appeared for medical and 2,494 for dental courses. Ninety-one per cent of the registered candidates took the test while there were only 107 absentees for the dental test, COMEDK executive secretary S. Kumar said.

He told The Hindu that there were no problems at all in any of the 12 test centres in the city. On the directions of the Supreme Court, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) had set the question papers based on three sample papers given by the COMEDK. The printed question papers were sent to the test centres at 9 a.m., an hour before the start of the examination.

To curb malpractice, COMEDK had introduced biometric verification (fingerprint) of the candidates. "In the test application, we had asked the candidates to give their thumb impressions. In the examination halls today, we took the impression of the left pointing finger of each candidate. The two impressions will be matched during the counselling time," Dr. Kumar said.

The answer keys for the test were put up both on the COMEDK website (www.comedk.org) as well as the site of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (www.rguhs.ac.in) . The final results will not be announced for the time being.

The 12 centres where the test was conducted today were: M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Ambedkar Medical College, M.S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce, M.E.S. College of Arts and Science, K.L.E.'s Nijalingappa College, Shri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, M.E.S. College of Teachers' Education, M.E.S. Kishore Kendra, City College, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, R.V. Dental College and M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology.

The 29 unaided, private medical and dental colleges affiliated to COMEDK, across the State, offer various courses in Medical and Dental studies at postgraduate level. The courses offered at the postgraduate level include the degree and diploma programmes.

On the directions of the Supreme Court, the COMEDK PGET had 36 nominated officials as observers from the university, three for each test centre.

They recorded the proceedings and reported them to the committee overseeing postgraduate admissions.