CAT-hit aspirants can take a second shot

The Indian Institutes of Management have decided to organise another test in January for those IIM aspirants who could not take the recently held Common Admission Test (CAT) due to technical glitches.

“On this testing date, we will only invite those candidates who remain to be tested and all those who, through our review, are found to be genuinely affected by various glitches during their last testing occasion,” Pankaj Chandra of IIM-Bangalore told reporters here after the meeting of the CAT Committee in the Human Resource Development Ministry here on Wednesday.

“We are in the process of setting up the criteria that will be used to objectively select candidates for the retest. We will inform such candidates in the coming weeks by e-mail,” he said.  Chandra clarified that the IIMs have also decided to continue with the computer-based-test for the CAT-2009.

In the wake of technical glitches marring the CAT in late November and early December, a section of faculty in the prestigious B-schools had opined that the IIMs should revert to the paper-pencil form of test.

When asked whether the IIMs would like to review their association with the US firm Prometric, which had the responsibility of conducting the test, Chandra said it would be premature to take a decision on this issue.