IIMs to fix minimum marks to write CAT

Your entry into the premier IIMs has just got tougher. In a move that will affect thousands of aspirants, the directors of six IIMs have decided to fix a minimum academic eligibility for the Common Admission Test.


This means candidates have to secure a minimum percentage of marks in the qualifying examination to be eligible to appear for the CAT. Though there has been no official confirmation, the cutoff is likely to be 50%.

 

"Every year the number of applicants goes up by 20,000. Last year about 1.7lakh students took the CAT. We want to reduce the number by fixing a minimum eligibility criteria so that the best minds get into IIMs," IIMB director Prakash G Apte said.


At the Ahmedabad meeting recently, the directors of the IIMs decided to take up the issue with the respective faculty councils to seek their feedback.


The decision was taken after the CAT Group, involving admission chairpersons of IIMs, informed the directors that the chunk of faculty time was taken away in conducting CAT and completing the admission process.


"Traditionally, IIMs had insisted on having minimum marks in graduation. But I do not know at what stage this was discontinued. We are only going back to an earlier practice. This move will further filter the number of applicants," S P Parashar, director, IIM-Indore, said.


IIMs are mulling other changes for CAT 2006. Like the erstwhile IIT-JEE style of admission, IIMs are mulling a two-tier selection procedure where applicants have to appear for two CATs : preliminary and mains.


"We're thinking of keeping group discussion and personal interviews short so that these do not take away teaching and research time of faculty," Apte said.
(TOI Dated:19/04/2006)