Applications can be submitted till May 31 for admission to the two-year Master of Computer Applications (MCA) course at the 44 AICTE-approved institutions in Kerala. A two-hour entrance test would be conducted at centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode. The date would be announced later.
Applicants need to have completed BCA, BSc Computer Science/IT, BTech, BA, BSC, BCom and BVoc. They should have secured at least 50 per cent marks in the qualifying examination; however, differently abled applicants and others eligible for community-based seat reservation need only 45 per cent marks.
Economically Weaker Sections too are eligible for reservation as per the guidelines on Kerala professional course admissions. Final-year students, who would be able to submit the mark list during the admission process, would also be considered.
Studying Maths at the Plus-Two or graduation level is an advantage. Those who have not studied Maths should have cleared the 'bridge course'. The 'bridge course' would be introduced in computer subjects too, if necessary.
Out of the 44 institutions private self-financing account for 35, the rest being government-run (3), aided (2) and government cost-sharing (4) ones.
The LBS centre in Thiruvananthapuram would conduct the allotment via the single-window system. The website: www.lbscentre.kerala.gov.in (Phone: 0471-2560363).
Fees
The application fee is Rs 1,200. The application fee is Rs 600 for SC/ST candidates. The course fee at government/aided college is Rs 7,650 (there would be a 5 per cent hike every year). A token fee of Rs 10,000 has to be paid initially at the government cost-sharing/ private self-financing colleges. The token fee is only for Rs 1,000 for SC/ST candidates.
Entrance test
There would be a total of 120 multiple-choice objective questions: Computer Science (50 questions), Maths and Statistic (25), Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Ability (25), English (15) and General Knowledge (5).
The questions for Maths and Statistic would be from the Plus-Two topics, while the questions in the Quantitative Aptitude section would be of graduate level. The All-India Council for Technical Education or AICTE is the apex body for technical education in the country.