Karnataka govt waives late admission penalty fees for PU students from 2026-27

The Karnataka government has cancelled the late admission penalty fee system for Pre-University (PU) colleges from the 2026-27 academic session onwards. The Department of School Education and Literacy has issued a government order withdrawing the provision that allowed colleges to collect fines for delayed admissions.

The School Education and Literacy Department said students taking delayed admissions to first PUC and second PUC courses in government PU colleges will now be exempted from paying additional penalty charges.

According to the order, students earlier had to pay Rs 670 as a "fine for late admission for 10 days” and Rs 2,220 as a “special fine for late admission for 20 days” if admissions were completed after the prescribed deadline.

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The government mentioned in the order that the penalty system, introduced through a March 20, 2018 order, was being misused by some PU colleges. Authorities observed that admissions were being granted even after the deadline without approval from higher officials and later regularised through penalty fee collection.

The Department of School Education and Literacy has instructed all PU colleges to strictly adhere to the admission calendar fixed by the department. The director of pre-university education has also been directed to issue necessary circulars and monitor implementation across institutions.

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The Department of School Education and Literacy, Karnataka’s post on its official X account reads, “The state government has withdrawn the order issued earlier regarding the imposition of delayed admission penalty fee on students who were late in enrolling in government pre-university colleges in the state. From this academic year (2026-27), first and second year students in government pre-university colleges in the state will be exempted from the penalty fee.”

Further, the department mentioned in the notice that the move is expected to benefit students from economically weaker backgrounds who often struggle to arrange documents or complete admissions within the initial schedule. Removing the additional financial burden would help ensure that more students continue their education at the PU level.