1st common test for non-IIM institutes in February

In February, candidates aspiring for B-schools across the country will be able to appear for the first Common Management Admission Test (CMAT).

In February, candidates aspiring for B-schools across the country will be able to appear for the first Common Management Admission Test (CMAT).

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To be conducted online by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) between February 20 and February 28 next year, registrations will begin from December 9. The dates were released in an AICTE notification on Sunday. The CMAT aims to decrease the burden on students having to sit for multiple entrance tests for different institutions.

“It (the test) will benefit students because it will save them from appearing for numerous entrance tests; they will spend less money on application forms and will be better prepared,” said SS Mantha, AICTE chairperson.

Mantha added that around 2.5 lakh students across India are likely to appear for first CMAT, with test scores applicable to 4,000 business schools excluding the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). The Common Admission Test will continue to be the criterion for entry to the IIMs.

In July, the Supreme Court gave its nod to the Council – it governs management education across India – to conduct its own entrance test.

However, it is not yet clear whether the new CMAT will replace the existing state Common Entrance Tests and other B-school tests or exist alongside. B-schools will have to clarify the number of students that will be admitted through CMAT. “We appreciate the government’s single test but it is too early to go completely online,” said Rekha Sethi, director general of the All India Management Association, which conducts the Management Aptitude Test (MAT).

“An online test is three times more expensive with connectivity and power supply being an issue in smaller towns.

An online test will only create a further digital divide.”

The MAT held it’s last of the four tests for this year on Sunday. In all, around 1.56 lakh students appeared for the test, with only 12% choosing the computer based test and 88% choosing the paper-pencil version. MAT is the entry criterion to around 600 B-schools across the country.