KEA data
Agriculture and other farm science courses have seen a sharp turnaround in demand, with vacancies plunging from 7.1% (243 seats) in 2025 to under 0.5% (20 seats) this year, despite the total intake increasing by over 800. Physiotherapy (BPT) too has witnessed a significant rise in demand, with the vacancy rate falling from 7.1% last year to 1.1% in 2026, leaving just 22 seats unfilled. The share of unfilled seats has declined from 20.8% in 2025 to 12.1% this year. Together, the two streams have recorded the largest increase in vacant seats — 9,453 more than last year. Their vacancy rate has risen from 18.1% to 26.3%, and a total of 24,856 seats remain unfilled this year.
Bengaluru: Veterinary and farm science courses have emerged as the most sought-after professional programmes in Karnataka this year, while engineering and nursing continue to struggle to fill seats, data from Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) shows. Veterinary science has recorded zero vacancies for the second straight year. Pharmacy has seen improvement as well, though vacancies remain relatively high. The picture is markedly different for engineering and architecture.
Total seats increased from 85,020 to 94,318,” said H Prasanna, executive director of KEA. Computer science has 4,635 unfilled seats, followed by electronics and communication (3,570), mechanical engineering (2,635), civil engineering (2,488), information science and engineering (2,044), electrical and electronics (1,409), artificial intelligence and machine learning (1,014), and computer science and engineering (data science) (578). One engineering college alone has more than 500 vacant seats, highlighting the uneven distribution of demand across institutions. Nursing vacuum The sharpest mismatch between available seats and student demand is seen in BSc Nursing, with the course recording a vacancy rate of 63% in 2026, leaving 22,831 seats unfilled — the highest among professional courses. Yoga and naturopathy have also seen demand weaken, with vacancies rising from 37.5% to 41.1%. Allied Health Sciences (AHS) presents a more nuanced picture, with intake jumping from 4,431 to 7,236 seats. the vacancy rate is down from 52.9% to 34.1% Although the number of vacant seats is up by 122.
Because of the increase in the number of seats available, “The increase in vacancy is. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in Bengaluru Stay updated with the latest Bengaluru news. Despite remaining among the most popular choices, computer science-related streams account for the largest share of vacant engineering seats. The data indicates that while some newer healthcare- and agriculture-linked courses are seeing stronger absorption, traditional high-volume courses such as engineering — particularly with a rapidly expanding seat pool — continue to struggle to match capacity with student demand. Download the TOI App.