Multiplexing for an MBA

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has decided to allow six channels for admission to the Masters course in Business Administration. Students, naturally, will have to pay more if they want to have more options. It?s a rich man?s world!

It’s bad news for the MBA aspirants. Get ready to shell out much, much more. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has decided to revert back to the old system of multiple admission channels for B-schools in the country.

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The previous government was systematically phasing out multiple admission channels for professional colleges in the country. Three years ago the CBSE was told to organise an All-India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE). From this year admission to all MCA courses were done through an All India MCA Common Entrance Test (AIMCET). The coveted exam was conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, in June and according to the plan admission to all B-schools in the country was to be conducted through one — and only one — all-India entrance test. With the change of guard at the MHRD, the entire scheme is back to square one.

According to the latest decision taken by the MHRD bosses, admission to all B-schools running an MBA, PG Diploma in Business Administration (PGDBA) or an equivalent programme in the country will be routed through six distinct entrance tests. This decision supersedes the earlier MHRD decision taken in October last year by which the MHRD wanted admissions to all B-schools through one, and only one, nation-wide entrance examination.

The six distinct admission test which have been approved by the MHRD for B-schools are:

1. The tried and tested Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management

2. The Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET) conducted by the IITs for their B-schools

3. Management Admission Test (MAT) conducted by All India Management Association

4. ATMA (conducted by All India Management Association)

5. XAT (conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur) and

6. The state-level joints entrance test conducted by the states

According to the MHRD, each B-school or any university/deemed university running PG level management courses must necessarily admit students from one of these six entrance examinations. However, say the MHRD order, institutions admitting students through state-level tests shall restrict admission to students from within the state only. They are barred from admitting students from outside the state.

The B-schools/institutions wishing to admit students from outside the state will have to subscribe to one of the five all-India admission tests described above (i.e. CAT, JMET, MAT, ATMA or XAT). The states that do not want to hold their own tests could use the merit determined by any one of these all-India tests.

All said and done, the ultimate loser would be the student who will now have to sit for at least two or three admission tests to get into a quality B-school. This naturally means Rs 1,200 or so for each admission brochure and more trouble for every extra admission test. So get set and prepare yourself for those extra exams.

The silver lining is that more and more B-schools are turning to CAT. In fact the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, FORE, and the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, have recently decided to subscribe to CAT scores. This will certainly give those sitting for CAT a wider choice. If the trend catches on and more and more B-schools join the CAT pool, it will be a great relief to MBA aspirants.

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