Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 3: The Common Entrance Test (CET) 2026 will be conducted on April 23 and 24, higher education minister Dr MC Sudhakar announced here on Friday. Registration for the examination will begin on January 17.

Speaking after releasing the CET 2026 manual and inaugurating the newly constructed Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) building, Dr Sudhakar said the Physics and Chemistry examinations will be held on April 23, followed by Mathematics and Biology on April 24. The Kannada language test for students from Gadinadu (border districts) will be conducted on April 22 and will carry 50 marks.

Medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil, KEA executive director H Prasanna and other officials were present on the occasion.

Dr Sudhakar said the state has 3,112 recognised science PU colleges, including government institutions, with 2,92,733 students currently studying in second PUC. When combined with around 83,000 students from CBSE and ICSE streams, the total number of eligible students for CET 2026 stands at 3,75,507. He added that the CET manual, detailing available courses and seat allocation procedures, will be distributed to students, teachers and parents to avoid confusion.

For the first time, KEA will verify candidates’ names, dates of birth and addresses through Aadhaar or DigiLocker to prevent errors in student records. To assist students during the option entry process, help desks will be set up at government and aided engineering colleges as well as government polytechnic colleges. KEA will also introduce practical-type questions in the CET this year.