Catastrophe continues

As the online test for B-school admission crashes on the second day too, experts blame faulty planning and hasty implementation. Students are disappointed, want old system back

Catastrophe continues

As the online test for B-school admission crashes on the second day too, experts blame faulty planning and hasty implementation. Students are disappointed, want old system back

After hundreds of students failed to take the computerised Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to management institutes in the country for the second day on Sunday, debates have started if the new format will pass the litmus test or not. While most students believe the earlier version of examination was more effective, experts say it's too early to jump to conclusions.

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Ulhas Vairagkar, director of T.I.M.E, a CAT coaching institute in Delhi, said, "Technically, the online format is good as students get the option of choosing the date on which they want to take the test. But in introducing the high-tech system, the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) should have been more diligent."

Others agree faulty planning and hasty implementation led to the system's failure. "The problem lies in planning.

There was inadequate infrastructure and the system was poorly implemented. The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, has been successfully conducting a similar examination for the last five years with over one lakh students. The IIMs should have been more careful. Now, the organisers must focus on plugging the loopholes. It is too early to say the system has failed," said Gautam Puri, vice-chairman of Career Launcher, an institute that prepares students for CAT.

On Sunday, authorities rescheduled the CAT test to carry out repairs at the laboratories where computers suffered a virus attack that disrupted the first day of tests on Saturday.

Students at a loss

While the organisers of CAT posted an update on their official website announcing the rescheduling of Sunday's examinations in 49 laboratories in 24 centres across India, there was no direct communication, either through email or SMS to students, creating confusion. Students complained the last minute update on the website did not help them.

Sandeep, a CAT aspirant, who was supposed to take the test on Sunday but couldn't because of the rescheduling, said, "There was utter confusion. Most students reached their centres in the morning and then learnt the test had been rescheduled. However, there was no official who gave us any reason for the change in date. I took the exam last year and believe it was easier then."

For many examinees, the rescheduling meant a day lost. "I had booked a slot for Sunday as I didn't want to take leave from work. But as I went to the test centre, I came to know the exam had been rescheduled. We lose the enthusiasm of appearing for an examination once it is postponed. If CAT could not handle the system, it should have kept to the previous one," said Sanjay Giri, an IT professional, who was supposed to take the test at Asia Pacific Institute of Management, Delhi.

Another crash

On November 5, during Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) first online Engineering Entrance Test, the server failed to respond to the increased traffic. The test, scheduled to be held in five phases, two on October 31 and three on November 1, had 9,349 takers. It was the first joint attempt of IGNOU to conduct an online test for any of its courses.

The Other Side
American firm Prometric, which has developed the computer system for CAT, said the test had been mostly successful. "Prometric technicians have been dispatched to address isolated problems. To avoid candidate inconvenience and to allow for the necessary repairs to be completed at the impacted labs, Prometric has scheduled a closure of these labs on Sunday, 29 November 2009," the company's website said.

Comp Attack
Among the cities where the examination was rescheduled on Sunday are Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Varanasi and Bhopal. Around 2,40,000 students have registered for CAT this year, which is scheduled to be held at 105 centres in 32 cities, all linked to a main server. The labs that were closed on Sunday include 11 in Bangalore, 8 in Bhopal, 6 each in Lucknow and Mumbai, 5 in Delhi, 4 in Ghaziabad, 2 each in Varanasi and Hyderabad and 1 each in Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Kolkata and Coimbatore.

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