The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : IIMs exploring feasibility of online Common Admission Test

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Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008
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IIMs exploring feasibility of online Common Admission Test

Staff Reporter

‘It is still in a proposal stage’
CAT 2008 will not be online

BANGALORE: The Indian Institutes of Management are considering conducting the Common Admission Test for management aspirants online. “The online test is something that has been discussed and we are looking to see if it is feasible. The Directors of all IIMs are exploring the possibilities,” said Pankaj Chandra, Director of Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore.

This means that the CAT 2008 to be conducted for admissions for 2009 will certainly not be online, and the exam will be conducted as usual, he said.

Dismissing fears of security and reliability, Prof. Chandra said that the request for proposal has been sent to large agencies around the world. “Having it online will make the process more flexible and easier. But the logistics are huge and we are aware of that. Things like cost, connectivity, etc., are yet to be worked out,” he said.

Regarding the statements issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development about the recent IIM fee hike, Prof. Chandra said that he had not received any communication and that it was not applicable to IIM-B. IIM-Ahmedabad had raised its fee by Rs. 1 lakh in February and then again in March. “We had got our hike pre-approved and there should not be any change in our announced fee structure,” Prof. Chandra clarified.

Apprehension

Coaching institutes such as the IMS and TIME have said that students have expressed apprehension over the supposed move and enquired if the coaching centres will provide training in this new mode.

“Obviously, there will be an issue related to reliability and viability of the tests,” said Ajay Arora, Regional Director of Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME). The test will be conducted in different phases and will not be conducted on the same day.

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