Students at the US-based Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA Institute)in India are flying abroad, this year too, to appear for examinations beginning June 8.
This is because the institute has still not been able to get an approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
"Last year, due to the court case between the CFA Institute and the AICTE, I could not prepare well for my exam and thus missed it. This year, I do not want to take any chances. I have booked my tickets to Bangkok and would be taking the exams there," says Ram Kapoor, an equity research analyst with a Mumbai-based broking firm. Around 60 more CFA students would be flying to Bangkok to take the exam.
Each candidate will have to shell out Rs 50,000 for ticket and accommodation. The to-and-fro ticket for Bangkok will cost around Rs 16,000 and the accommodation will cost Rs 20,000-30,000. The cost will be the same, even if a candidate flies to Singapore.
CFA students from India are also said to have taken exams at locations like Kathmandu, Dhaka, Colombo, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
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Last year, the institute had refunded around $300 towards travel expenses to students taking the exams abroad. This year, however, it has no such plans as the students are aware that the institute has not yet been approved by the AICTE.
Despite the cost structure of the programme and its ongoing struggle with AICTE, students have opted for the CFA.
"CFA is a designation that gives you an international appeal. No programme in India gives you that kind of quality. This programme is more about application and gives you an edge to further your career," says Jay Kumar, a financial analyst with a multinational in India.
For a level one and level two student, the enrolment and examination fee will $990 (Rs 39,600) and $1,078 (Rs 43,120), respectively. For level three students, the fee will be $1395 (Rs 55,800).
The Delhi High Court, in December 2007, dismissed the CFA Institute's petition against the AICTE asking the institute to seek the technical education regulator's approval to operate in India.
The AICTE had issued a notice to the CFA Institute asking it to stop its operations in India with immediate effect since it did not have the AICTE's permission.
The CFA Institute wrote to the AICTE in the last week of December 2007 to seek an appointment. But so far, there has been no word from the regulating body.