The Karnataka Common Entrance Test (CET) 2020 exams will be held on July 30 and 31. The state’s minister for Higher Education CN Ashwathnarayan announced on Wednesday, reported Times of India.

Ashwathnarayan, who is also Karnataka’s deputy chief minister, added that the higher education academic year will start from the first week of September. The exams were originally scheduled to be held on April 22 and 23. It got postponed due to the country-wide lockdown due to the coronavirus crisis.

The new dates were supposed to be revealed after the end of the lockdown, but Ashwathnarayan made the announcement sooner.

The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) conducts the CET for admission to the professional courses. First-year or first semester of full-time courses for Government share of seats in engineering, technology, naturopathy and yoga. B. Pharma, second-year B. Pharm, Pharm-D, agriculture courses (farm science) and veterinary courses, in Government / University / Private Aided / Private Un-Aided Professional Educational Institutions in the State of Karnataka for the academic year 2020-21.

The KEA extended the deadline for applications to May 18 through the link on the official website kea.kar.nic.in, according to The New Indian Express.

Over 1.90 lakh students were registered for the CET 2020, according to Bangalore Mirror. The test is seen as a gateway for admission to all undergraduate professional courses except medical, dental and Ayush.