ComedK counselling delayed, outstation students suffer most

Bengaluru: Disruptions in the seat-selection process left parents and students at their wits' end on Tuesday, the first day of ComedK's Under-Graduate Entrance Test (UGET) counselling. The exercise began at 8.30am but progressed slowly. Some non-Karnataka students were forced to cancel their flight/train tickets.
The counselling was to end at 5.45pm but continued late into the night.It was expected to be over by midnight.
Parents and students had travelled from across the country to reach NMKRV College for Women, the counselling centre, in time. But to no avail. Though the counselling began, it moved at a snail's pace. While students with rank numbers between 1 and 3,000 had to be selected on Day 1, those with ranks beyond 3,000 also turned up, creating confusion. Those whose selection was scheduled for the evening had to bear the brunt.
A parent who had come from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, told TOI: "My son's counselling was scheduled for 4.30pm, but even after 6pm, they didn't approach us. Till 6pm, ComedK authorities conducted counselling for only 1,000 students. My flight is at 10.45pm, but I have cancelled the tickets. Now we have booked a hotel room. Who will reimburse us?"
The day also saw heated arguments between parents and ComedK officials, with the latter blaming the private agency which provided the software for counselling. The blame game delayed the process further. "We are paying so much fees and getting this in return. Can't they conduct a mock process a day before the counselling? This is ridiculous," said a parent.
An exasperated Sabyasachi Behera, a student from Madhya Pradesh, said he had no option but to miss his train, which was supposed to depart at 7.30pm. "I will not get a single rupee back. It's very frustrating."
Many were irked by the lack of facilities at the counselling centre. Participants had to brave the rain as there was no proper shelter. Students and parents were seen sitting on the footpath. Amitabh Sinha, a parent from Delhi, said, "ComedK is very inefficient. It is causing so much inconvenience to everyone", he rued.
"The least they could have done is made basic arrangements for outstation parents. We couldn't find a drinking water facility. It's a shame that our parents have to sit on the pavement," said Pratik Singh, a student from Rajasthan.