The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) admissions committee said on Wednesday that the Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry to the country’s top B-schools will be held online again next year, despite technical glitches that marred the exam this year.
However, some institutes who are dependent on CAT scores for their own admission process want to revert to the paper-pencil format for the exam.
But ruling out any change, Himanshu Rai, professor, IIM-Lucknow and chairman of the admissions committee, saidthat though he was sorry that students had to face a harrowing time owing to technical problems, the online format would stay.
“We (the IIMs) can’t absolve ourselves… CAT is ours. I am extremely apologetic for what has happened so far,” Rai told a television news channel.
He added that despite mock tests, there were glitches which were not foreseen.
“We are learning (our) lessons and will take cognisance of what candidates are saying.
The online CAT is here to stay... these are still early days... I regret the inconvenience caused but we are learning from our mistakes and they won’t be repeated,” Rai said.
He also called on rescheduled candidates facing communication problems to accommodate organisers. “Please try to accommodate us... (over rescheduling problems), please write in once more on the email ID given or call on the helpline... we will try to make the exam as fair as possible. I know students have gotten stressed but from now on things will improve,” he added.
Apart from the seven IIMs, over 150 B-schools in the country utilise scores from CAT during admissions.
Dr KN Balasubramanya Murthy, principal, PES Institute of Technology (Bangalore), said, “The IIMs must go back to the old system. At least till they are better prepared to conduct online tests. I don’t see how holding a test over 10 days helps students.”
Murthy said it only meant “prolonged stress”. “Like the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), they should hold the test over three months for the benefit of students,” Murthy added.
According to officials, the CAT cancellations show a lack of preparedness on the part of organisers. The failure has cost students time and caused a lot of stress. S Sudeep Kumar, associate professor, chairman-admissions, TA Pai Management Institute (Bangalore), said, “Candidates who have had to travel back and forth because of cancellations are under stress. It will affect their composure, which will affect their performance during the test.”
“I’m amazed at how premier institutions could do such a poor job of an entrance exam.
Why was it necessary to outsource the test to a US firm (Prometric)? Indian companies could have done a far better job,” BV Krishnamurthy, director, Alliance Business School (Bangalore), said.
—With inputs from Jayalakshmi Venugopal
Double trouble in Ahmedabad
Students were at their wits end on Wednesday as problems that hit CAT 2009 in various cities reached test labs in the city.
Server problems followed by a power blackout at one of the three test sites in the city delayed the test of many candidates by around two hours.
At LJ Institute of Management Studies, one of the three test sites in the city, many students were stranded as the computers failed to download the test. The delay was made severe by a blackout that followed.
A student said, “The test was supposed to start at 10am. As the system failed to download the test for around one and a half hours, we got nervous and started to get worried that our test will have to be rescheduled. Even the invigilators did not have a clue about what went wrong.”
Apparently, one of the three servers at the centre failed to function.
—Dayananda Meitei from Ahmedabad
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