Over 11,000 SC Students Risk Losing CET Seats Due To Caste Certificate Delays

More than 11,000 Scheduled Caste (SC) students in Karnataka, including applicants from Bengaluru South, are at risk of losing their reserved professional course seats for the CET 2026 admissions. The crisis has emerged due to delays at tehsildar offices in issuing updated caste certificates that comply with the state's new internal reservation guidelines.

With the July 8 deadline for online option entry fast approaching, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) portal is preventing 11,086 SC students from completing their choices. The portal requires a Revenue Document (RD) number from a caste certificate that reflects the newly implemented internal reservation categories.

The issue began because the state government had not finalized its decision on internal reservation when students initially submitted their CET applications. Consequently, SC students registered using their existing caste certificates. After the government decided to implement the internal reservation, KEA directed all SC candidates to obtain and submit new certificates under Categories A, B, and C.

While 32,267 of the 43,353 total SC applicants have successfully updated their RD numbers, thousands remain stuck.

"Initially, it was not mandatory to submit a caste certificate under internal reservation, so we submitted our old caste certificates," said Kavya (name changed), an affected student from Bengaluru South district. She explained that despite applying nearly a month ago, she has not received the document from the tehsildar's office, leaving her unable to complete her option entry.

KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna stated that the authority has sent SMS alerts and newspaper advertisements urging students to update their details. He added that KEA has written to the Revenue Department Secretary regarding the complaints.

However, a Revenue Department source disputed claims of systemic delays, stating that most applications are resolved within the 21-day Sakala timeframe. According to department data, only seven new applications and 3,702 correction requests are pending past 21 days, while 57,163 other applications have been pending for fewer than 21 days.