The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), which recently initiated the recruitment process for over 11,000 posts across various departments, has received a whopping 16.51 lakh applications.
Between June 5 and September 9, 2026, the KEA issued notifications and invited applications for 11,249 vacant posts across 15 departments — including the Police, Revenue, Horticulture, Law, and Municipal departments. A total of 16,51,210 candidates from across the State have applied for these positions. This indicates that there are at least 146 candidates competing for each post.
Of the total applications, 3,46,511 applications were submitted for the 2,544 posts reserved for the Kalyana Karnataka region, while 13,04,699 applications were received for the 8,705 posts reserved for the Residual Parent Cadre (Rest of Karnataka) region.
Revenue, Police departments
The highest number of applications has been received for posts in the Revenue Department. A total of 4,92,534 applications have been submitted for the 572 Village Administrative Officer (VAO) posts. As many as 4,54,532 applications have been received for the 3,991 Police Constable (Civil) posts.
A relatively low number of applications were submitted for certain posts under the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS). For instance, 428 applications were received for the 17 Graduate Drawing Teacher posts, and 581 applications were received for the 17 Diploma Drawing Teacher posts.
The KEA, which holds the Karnataka State Eligibility Test (KSET) for the Department of Higher Education, has received 1,27,975 applications for it.
Long gap in hiring
Since 2018, barring the recruitment of approximately 15,000 Graduate Primary Teachers and around 2,500 Assistant Professors for Government First Grade Colleges, there have been no significant recruitments for government departments. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the government had halted recruitment processes. Recruitment processes had also been delayed for the past two to three years due to court orders, including those concerning the implementation of internal reservation.
This situation had resulted in several protests by youngsters, especially in North Karnataka, demanding jobs.
This is seen as one of the important factors that has resulted in such a high number of applications since the process began. The State government plans to fill approximately 75,000 government posts over the next two years. Several departments have since initiated steps to fill vacancies through the KEA.
“I hold a postgraduate degree and have been preparing for government jobs for the past five to six years. Among the vacancies recently notified by the KEA, the minimum educational qualification for most posts is a II PUC or a bachelor’s degree. I have applied for five different posts,” said Shyam Sundar N.S., a job aspirant from Bengaluru.
AI and other factors
“The halt of recruitment processes for several years is a key reason for the surge in aspirants. Additionally, individuals who lost their jobs in the private sector — due to factors including Artificial Intelligence (AI) — are now turning towards government employment. As a result, both the number of candidates enrolling in training centres and the number of applicants for these posts have risen,” argued Ramesh Kumar, an instructor at a private coaching centre in Bengaluru.
Speaking to The Hindu, H. Prasanna, Executive Director of the KEA, said that four more departments have submitted proposals to fill a total of 9,340 posts, and notifications for these would be issued soon.
Published – September 27, 2026 06:01 am IST
