The IIMs’ attempt to solve the crisis of the first day of the Common Admission Test (CAT) led to more chaos on day two, Sunday.
Prometric, the US-based agency conducting the exam, shut 50 computer laboratories across 24 centres in 13 cities to repair the technical faults encou-ntered the
previous day. But since the notice was only put up on the website, most aspirants scheduled to take the exam on Sunday turned up at their centres.
In Mumbai, labs in five centres — Fr Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering, M H Saboo Siddik College of Engin-eering, Thakur College of Science and Commerce, Thakur Polytec-hnic and Saraswati College of Engineering — were shut.
On Saturday, day one of the online exam, various technical issues arose at computers in approximately 50 labs that prevented approximately 2,000 tests from being delivered across the country.
“They should have at least sent a ‘SMS’ informing us that the labs are shut. One is so confused by the end that you are just not mentally prepared to take the exam,” said Nimisha Todi, an aspirant who was scheduled to write from one of these labs but then realised that her lab had been changed. “The only saving grace was that the paper was very simple, far simpler than anyone expected.”
While the paper might have been simple, some students could not view some of the questions or their options below. Ali Zaveri, along with 40 other students in his batch, could not attempt four questions because he could not see the numerical values in them.
“They asked us to send an email and note down the questions that were not clear but we have no idea what will happen. Once I came out, I realised that they were simple questions and I would have scored if I could see them,” said Zaveri.
Parag Chitale of CPLC, a coaching class said, “The exam for the IIMs is being conducted by Prometric and handled on the ground by NIIT. Who is responsible? How will they make up for the backlog of students? Engineering exams start on December 9 so they cannot extend the dates,” he said. The exam spread over 10 days is sche-duled to get over on December 7.