On Sunday morning, front-page headlines in newspapers revealed: “Online birth pangs dog CAT”; “CAT’s e-debacle leaves students foxed” etc. But what was a matter of clever wordplay for newspapers spelt uncertainty and unwarranted anxiety for 240,000 Indian Institute of Management (IIM) aspirants.
As for IIMs, which are experimenting with the new system of online CAT, and Prometric, the company handling this system, it is a time of big crisis. The stakes involved are too high: The future of IIM admission-seekers, the image of haloed IIMs and, most importantly, the future of e-governance in the country.
Some experts have blamed the current debacle on a complacent vendor with a failure record. They quote the example of a UK government body which ended its five-year, multi-million dollar contract with ETS, the parent company of Prometric, following serious troubles with the administration and marking of tests. The issue rocked the British Parliament and made headlines through July and August 2008.
However, even as the directors of IIMs and the technical teams from Prometric work towards stabilising the system, they also need to step up their communication with candidates. They should issue statements, assuring candidates that they would find ways to accommodate all those who missed their tests.
Finally, instead of criticising the new system, it is in every one’s interest to make this new model work, since a mega initiative like this has lessons not only for the IIMs but for the entire education system. If it succeeds, it could possibly lead to the development of a transparent e-governance mechanism for the education system in the country.
The decision of the IIMs to move from the three-decade-old paper-and-pencil method of selection of candidates for 3,000-odd seats to the computer-based method is revolutionary in more ways than one, and it is important to give it a fair try.
More From This Section
Replacement of the old ballot system with electronic voting machines in elections in the country is an example of the successful technology application.
Another mechanism that has touched the lives of many Indians is the railway reservation system adopted over two decades ago. The system has seamlessly moved on to internet-based booking of tickets over a period of time.
But can we say that these two high-impact systems are with no defects at all? Perhaps no. Because there are occasional failures, system breakdowns and outages that render them dysfunctional for a few hours.
Sanjiv Kataria, on email