CAT fiasco: Prometric owns responsibility

A week after the results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009 were declared, Prometric, the agency that conducted the first computer-based CAT, took responsibility for the lapses and delays in the process.

“We are responsible for the lapses and delays, especially in the first three days when there were delivery problems. We have learnt our lessons,” said Chief Operating Officer Charles Kernan, while addressing a conference here today.

When asked to comment on the fact that more than 20 Right to Information (RTI) applications had been filed on the methodology used for scoring, Kernan said: “The RTI applications have not reached us yet. It is the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) that are subject to anyone filing the RTIs.”

Pointing out flaws in the infrastructure and networks, the company said it had learnt how to manage public networks and that it might not be the same next year. “The scale of this exam is huge and before next year, we will look at longer testing periods and content protection. The challenge is of venues, which do not have protections and software. Almost 87 per cent of the networks ran fine from day one but we do need better public infrastructure,” added Kernan.

However, the testing agency said it would review its contract with NIIT (which was its delivery partner to ensure all sites were ready, up and running) even as it saw no reason to not conduct the test next year. In fact, the IIMs themselves plan to review their contract with Prometric. An IIM director said: “We want to meet and talk to Prometric, but the convocations are going to happen soon. Reviewing of the contract will be open for discussions based on our experience.”

CAT was also affected by attacks by viruses, which Prometric refused to name, but said the test would not be made real-time or online. “IIMs need to balance the number of days of access and delivery, though we will consider using public networks from next time to restore confidence of students,” said Prometric Managing Director Soumitra Roy. Prometric added, unlike GRE, which was held throughout the year, CAT would not be subject to continuous testing.