Principals sceptical of common MBA exam

While the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has decided on an entrance test for management education, principals and experts are sceptical about its implementation.

While the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has decided on an entrance test for management education, principals and experts are sceptical about its implementation.

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The Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) that is supposed to come in next year will eliminate all other management entrance tests apart from the Common Admission Test (CAT) and tests held by deemed universities.

“I am not clear if this sort of proposal will come through. The common entrance test held by states is a big revenue generator and the AICTE cannot decide on their behalf, unless it comes from the ministry. It will be a long battle for them,” said PV Narasimham, director, KJ Somaiya Management Institute.

Apart from the state entrance tests the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) and AIMS Test for Management Admission (MTMA) account for most admissions in the 4,000 private B-schools in the country. Eliminating these would be an uphill task for the AICTE, said experts.

“While the one exam concept is good, greater emphasis must be laid on the kind of exam it is. It should be formatted more on the GMAT that measures the aptitude of a student and is not the main deciding factor,” said Apurva Pandit from PaGaLGuY.com, a management education portal.