KEA to conduct single common exam for 33 departments

The Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) has undertaken a process to conduct recruitment through a single exam for the first time for various departmental vacancies having similar educational qualifications. Until now, this facility was available only through the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). This significant step has been taken following the recent decision by the State Government to recognise KEA as a recruitment agency.

According to KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna, the authority will now organise a common exam simultaneously for similar types of posts across 33 different departments. Currently, the recruitment process for a total of 5,431 vacancies, including First Division Assistant (FDA), Second Division Assistant (SDA), and other similar posts, has commenced.

In the previous method, even when qualifications for posts were identical, each department had to issue separate notifications, invite applications, and conduct individual written examinations. This process imposed an additional financial burden on candidates. Under the new system, candidates will be able to apply for posts in multiple departments through a single application and by paying a single fee. Mr. Prasanna explained that this will reduce delays and inconvenience.

KEA has developed a software that will automatically carry forward the details of candidates who previously applied for posts such as Village Administrative Officer (VAO), Land Surveyor, Agriculture Officer, and Assistant Agriculture Officer. The details of these candidates will automatically appear in their FDA and SDA applications. Such candidates will only need to log in and pay the required application fee to complete the application submission process.

Candidates will be able to log in using their existing username and password. Before paying the fee and submitting the application, they can also make necessary corrections to their details. H. Prasanna has advised that candidates who have not previously registered with KEA will have to complete the full application process by providing details through Aadhaar authentication.

Similar to the admission process for medical, engineering, and other professional courses, KEA will prepare the recruitment list based on merit and applicable reservation categories. Just as students are allowed to submit their preferred colleges and courses in order of preference during counselling, candidates will now have to enter their preferred departments and posts in order of preference.

Posts will be allotted to candidates based on the marks obtained. Ultimately, each candidate will be allotted only one post. The recruitment counselling process will also follow a process similar to seat-allotment counselling. To give candidates an opportunity to submit their preferences, a mock allotment result will first be declared, allowing candidates to change or rearrange their preferences. Following this, provisional and final selection lists will be published.

Through this system, KEA will be able to select candidates for all 5,431 vacancies simultaneously. Under the previous method, meritorious candidates were sometimes selected for more than one post. They would take time to decide which post to accept, which caused delays in the recruitment process. When candidates opted out of other posts, additional rounds of selection had to be conducted for the resulting vacancies. KEA has decided that allotting posts based on candidate selection and merit will be more efficient than conducting repeated selection processes. Candidates will be given the opportunity to submit their preferences after the results are declared.