Way to IIM tougher by 50%

THOSE WHO get a third division in graduation will no longer be eligible to appear for the Common Admission Test for admission to the IIMs.

The directors of the IIMs have decided to fix 50 per cent in the bachelor's exam as the academic eligibility for taking the CAT. On Thursday, IIM Bangalore director Prakash G. Apte said the decision was taken collectively by all the IIMs at a recent meeting of the directors in Ahmedabad, to discourage "those who ultimately could not pass for the test, from applying".

The move would help the faculty councils concerned to save valuable academic time every year, apart from handling less number of applications while shortlisting the candidates, he said.

IIM faculty believe the 50 per cent clause will put a check on the mushrooming of coaching centres for CAT.

"Many students ignore their undergraduate courses to concentrating on CAT courses ranging from six to 18 months," said an IIM Calcutta faculty member. "Under the new format, students will have to give equal importance to classroom teaching while preparing for CAT." Over 80 per cent of students who appear for the test opt for coaching.

Though the 50 per cent criterion will strengthen the urban edge in CAT, it is expected to reduce the number of students appearing for the test by up to 25 per cent.

"This was done as the institutes were finding it very difficult to handle increasing number of applicants for the IIM entrance," IIM Lucknow director Professor Devi Singh said while talking to Hindustan Times.

IIMs have been contemplating ways and means to streamline the ever increasing number of students taking the CAT every year.  Last year itself, 1.6 lakh students appeared for CAT. By introducing the 50 per cent cutoff IIMs are hoping that this would help screen candidates. Prof Devi Singh admitted that the numbers were getting out of control.

But, then the bigger question now is whether the decision would actually help in screening candidates? A majority of those who get admitted to various IIMs are students with an engineering background.

And as Prof Pankaj Kumar, senior IIM-L faculty said, “achieving 50 per cent in engineering exams is not a big  thing for candidates anyway.”  About 70 per cent of those getting admitted to various IIMs are engineers. He however termed the decision as a “good move.”