23 March,2011 10:29 AM IST | | Debarati Palit
MBA colleges can now conduct GD, PI but not private tests
A Supreme Court notification that debarred MBA institutes from conducting private tests, but allowed them to hold group discussions and personal interviews for the next academic year, has come as a great relief to 60 management institutes across the state.
According to the order, scores of CAT, MAT, XAT, ATMA and JMET ufffd the five national level tests ufffd will be considered as the basis for calling students for GD and PI rounds.
The ruling has come in the wake of a tiff between the All India Council of Technical Education's (AICTE) and management institutes over the guidelines on Common Entrance Test. The management institutes had challenged the guidelines in the Bombay High Court.
City colleges, which had put their admission procedures on hold for almost a month, have started advertising for the same from Monday. But they maintained that AICTE's regulation had come at the eleventh hour, delaying admissions and wasting money spent by institutes on promoting their courses.
Date clashes
But the issue does not end here as institutes believe that there would be confusion among the students and date clashes among the institutes.
Ajit Patwardhan, chairman council and governing body of Deccan Education Society added, "Though we are not directly involved with the AICTE notification, students are facing a problem."
"Of course, there will be confusion created by the situation. Students are unsure on what is exactly happening at the top level. There will be date clashes, but things need to be planned properly."
Chetan Wakalkar, director Indira Group of Institutes, points out that clash of dates among colleges to hold GD/PI is bound to happen. "As colleges are also in a rush to finish off admission procedures, students are in a haste to get the seats. In place of two they will go for one college."
But colleges maintained that they would follow the directive pointed out by the Supreme Court even though it might create inconvenience.
Dr Neha Sharma, director Mitcon Institute of Management, said, "We cannot blame either the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court as they have given the directive real fast. It's the AICTE, which has been coming out with new rules and regulations every year since 2005."
There are speculations that from next year admission process will be centralised under Common Admission Process (CAP) to be conducted by Consortium of Management Education. Though city institute have their doubts on whether the government is capable of conducting centralised admission.
