IIMs consider doubling CAT test window next year

Extend CAT for a day

To avoid a repeat of the chaos seen this year in the first few days of computer-based Common Admission Test (CAT), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are thinking of doubling the testing window period next year to make the process smoother.

"It seems more feasible to extend the test window than to conduct the test throughout the year. We are considering to double to number of days of the test next year so that the pressure on the infrastructure lessens," said Samir Barua, director of IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A). He said that against a 10 day test window, a 20 day test window will allow the IIMs to use less number of computers with more options.

Barua said that the IIMs would not consider putting up their own infrastructure for testing as it was too costly and the assets would not reap benefits. On asked whether the IIMs would review the performance of Prometric, the company contracted by the IIMs for conducting the CAT, Barua said, "We are ready to review whether this agency has been too poor to execute its job or not". The institute is also mulling doing a case study on their experience of CAT 2009.

Meanwhile IIMs and Prometric have said that a new test date will be announced in about a fortnight to provide an opportunity to candidates who could not take the test due to genuine reasons. Prometric would inform all such candidates about the date and the venue for the test. For CAT 2009, the IIMs orginally had a 10 day testing period from November 28 to December 7 which was extended by a day to December 8. On December 8, the last date of the exam, the test will be conducted in 20 centres across 100 odd labs.