For KV Bharat, an IIM aspirant trying to bell the first online Common Admission Test 2009 (CAT 2009), the experience has been stressful. He was to take the test on November 28, the day the CAT centres opened doors, at Garden City College (GCC).
“We were not informed about the problems at the centre. Instead we waited for nearly five hours to get a confirmation note stating we couldn’t take the test on the scheduled date due to technical problems,” said Bharat. The test that was cancelled because of server and technical glitches, was just the beginning of the series of tests to be cancelled at GCC.
Bharat, a seventh semester engineering student, was in a fix when Prometric officials rescheduled his test date to December 1, for he had a semester paper slated for that date. “I called the candidate care number and told them that I cannot take the test on December 1 and requested it be rescheduled for a later date,” he added.
Later Bharat got a call from Prometric asking him to report to a Lucknow centre the following day to give his test. He told DNA, “I actually checked to see if there were flights or a train, some way to get to Lucknow to give the test. How can a candidate report to a test centre in another city at such short notice?”
He again contacted the helpline to ask for a fresh slot in the city, but was told there wasn’t any. “I spent three to four months preparing for the CAT. I want a refund,” he stated.
His was not an isolated case. According to Gautam Puri, vice chairman of educational training firm Career Launcher, there have been more than three such cases reported to them so far. “A candidate from Gwalior got a call at 9.30 pm to take his rescheduled test the next day at a venue in Lucknow. It was virtually impossible for anyone to travel to another city at such short notice. Those who were affected should be accommodated on another date,” he said.
The IIMs have announced that in a fortnight from now, they shall announce a date when affected candidates can take the test.
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