CAT 2009 will be conducted between November 28 and December 7.
To avoid a repeat of the Common Admission Test (CAT) paper leak in 2003, the Indian Institutes of Management(IIMs), which conduct the exam usually, spend a tense few months to ensure there are no leaks and glitches. This time around, aided by technology and a professional examination conducting company, the IIMs are confident there will be no security breaches.
Prometric, the company that bagged the contract to conduct the computer-based examination this year has a security mechanism in place which will help the IIMs manage over 2 lakh applications received this year. Also being introduced is capturing of biometric information which will ensure that no fradulent motives like writing the exam twice or using a proxy candidate can be used.
It is learnt that despite the instructions given to students in the CAT bulletin, nearly 1,000 applications every year get rejected by the IIMs due to discrepancies in the forms of which a few of them are suspected to be deliberate.
“Till last year, there were cases where the photographs would not match or candidates would not attach their photographs while applying for hall ticket. Since there were chances of somebody else appearing as proxy for these candidates, the institute used to reject such cases. On an average, the institute used to come across 100-200 such cases involving photographs,” said a source.
Similarly, incomplete forms and those with different names also used to get rejected. “Some candidates used to register on CAT Bulletin by a different name and would later apply for hall ticket with a different name. However, the institute was alert enough to identify such inconsistencies and reject the forms. This also used to create some hue and cry among the candidates. However, the new security measures like capturing candidates’ pictures and biometric information will make it almost impossible to make any attempts of fraud,” the source added.