Karnataka Examination Authority to conduct single examination for recruitment to multiple posts

The Karnataka Examination Authority in Bengaluru.

For the first time, the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) has taken steps to complete recruitment through a single examination for different departmental posts that have similar educational qualifications. Until now, this facility was available only through the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).

The application process for recruitment to First Division Assistant (FDA), Second Division Assistant (SDA) and other equivalent posts, involving a total of 5,431 vacancies, has begun. The KEA has also introduced several new initiatives in this recruitment process.

Following the recent decision of the State government to recognise KEA as a recruitment agency, the authority will conduct a common examination for equivalent posts across 33 departments at once, said KEA Executive Director H. Prasanna.

Earlier, even when posts had similar qualifications, each department had to issue separate notifications, invite applications and conduct individual written examinations. This placed an additional financial burden on candidates. Under the new system, candidates can apply for posts across multiple departments through a single application and pay a single fee. This will help reduce delays and inconvenience, Mr. Prasanna explained.

KEA has developed a software that automatically carries forward the details of candidates who had 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 only need to log in and pay the required application fee to complete the submission process.

Candidates can log in using their existing username and password. They can make any necessary corrections to their details before paying the fee and submitting the application.

Only candidates who have not registered with KEA previously will need to complete the entire application process by providing their details through Aadhaar authentication, he advised.

Similar to the admission process for medical, engineering and other professional courses, the KEA will prepare recruitment lists based on merit and applicable reservation categories.

Just as students are allowed to submit their preferred colleges and courses in order of priority during counselling, candidates will now have to enter their preferred departments and posts in their order of preference.

Based on the marks obtained by candidates, posts will be allotted accordingly. Ultimately, each candidate will be allotted only one post. The recruitment counselling process will also follow a procedure similar to seat-allotment counselling.

A mock allotment result will first be announced, giving candidates an opportunity to change or rearrange their preferences. After this, the provisional and final selection lists will be published.

This system will enable KEA to select candidates for all 5,431 vacancies at once.

Under the earlier system, meritorious candidates were sometimes selected for more than one post. They would then take time to decide which post to join, delaying the recruitment process. Vacancies created when candidates opted out of other posts also required additional rounds of selection.

Instead of conducting repeated selection processes to fill such vacancies, the KEA has decided that allocating posts based on candidates’ preferences and merit would be more efficient.

Candidates will be given an opportunity to submit their preferences after the results are announced.