The CAT and mouse game
CAT 2009 went online for the first time with disastrous results adding to student’s confusion and anxiety

By Kannaki Deka
New Delhi, December 04: A seminar organised by MBAuniverse.com on “CAT 2009: Post Exam Expert” turned into a heated debate, when reports about technical snags started pouring in from many cities on Day 1 of the online CAT exam. The seminar was attended by representatives from the leading test prep institutes who presented their views on the fiasco.

While many urged the candidates to look at the silver lining, the general mood was one of disapproval. CAT is one of the most prestigious entrance exams taken in India with as many as 2, 41,582 students appearing for the exam this year. Satwinder Singh Saimbi, Director and Co-founder, MBA Universe.com made his stand very clear on the issue by stating that, “We are shocked and condemn in strongest words the inability of the authorities to conduct the examination in an appropriate manner. The under-preparedness of the test conducting agencies reflected as thousands of students were unable to take the CAT 2009 due to system failures. With the career of these students at stake we urge the exam conducting bodies to take strong steps towards correcting the mess – a body of experts needs to be set-up on an urgent basis towards ensuring a fool-proof system which keeps the interest of students in mind”

The panel, discussed about the two parameters that are of paramount importance in the process of conducting an entrance exam of such a stature and ie, transparency and fairness. Deekshant Sahrawat, Director, Roots Education expressed his disappointment on CAT failing on transparency every year, but this time what makes it worse is that the examinations held were unfair to the students who faced technical glitches or could not appear for the test at all. “The rush displayed by IIMs in conducting the examinations online was unwarranted and the non-disclosure agreement is a regressive move which is unfair and a cover-up,” says Sahrawat.

The glitches did not come as a surprise to many though, as the general consensus was that Prometric, the firm responsible for conducting the common admission test did not carry out a dry run of the examination on such a large scale. “It is a gigantic task with such a large number of students taking the test so the glitches were expected,” commented Hanumant Sabharwal, CAT expert, IMS learning.

Prometric, tied up with 104 centres across India, this year. CAT was conducted in engineering colleges and management institutions as opposed to K12 schools every year. Sandeep Manudhane, Founder Chairman, PT education commented that , “ It is unlikely that Prometric carried out a big scale dummy run prior to the day of the examination. Whereas in a country like India a dry run is important because of uncertainty of resources such as power supply, internet supply etc. The company responsible remains unapologetic, they should have had a plan B prepared in case of such a fiasco. Rescheduling is not easy for students since they achieve their peak on the right day. Overall, it was a very poor show.”

Despite the general mood of disapproval the panel urged the students to remain calm and positive, as they believe that IIMs will definitely take some rectifying steps. The measure prescribed by the panel unanimously was for CAT to go the GMAT way. According to statistics shared by the members of the panel, an average 24,000 students appear for one test in case of CAT, compared to 1,000 in GMAT. So the only way to deal with such large scale crashes is to spread the date of exam over the years like GMAT, in order to reduce the load per day.