FRONT PAGE | Sunday, November 29, 2009 | Email | Print | 
Students have harrowing time with online CAT
Staff Reporter | New Delhi
Computers crash at many centres
Several students appearing for the first online Common Admission Test in the Capital had to leave their centres in disappointment on Saturday as the servers crashed and some of them even could not log in. The first slot of exam at two centres, Janakpuri and Jasola in Delhi, was cancelled due to technical glitches creating panic situation and it was almost commotion among the students.
The first slot was scheduled at 10.30 in the morning but students could not log in their IDs till 12.30 pm and finally they were informed the exam has been cancelled and would be rescheduled later. Vaishali Gambhir, who appeared at Management Education and Research Institute (MERI) in Janakpuri said her system got hanged during exam and she could not proceed further, and finally the exam was called off. “In the beginning, it was going smoothly when I started at 10.30 pm but half-an-hour later, my computer got hanged. I waited, but it did not work after that. It happened not only with me but there were around 43 students in our room and no one could finish the exam”, Vaishali said.
She said around 1 pm, an instructor came and expressing regret on behalf of Prometric, a US-based firm to whom the IIMs have given contract for conducting the online test, said the exam has been called off and would be rescheduled. “She gave us a ticket and said we would be informed through emails when we will have to reappear for the test. It was all chaotic. Now, we are really concerned about our future prospects. I have been preparing for months and I chose this date (November 28) particularly to avoid clash with my university exam. Now, what will I do, I do not know”, Vaishali said, adding she was also pursuing MCA from IGNOU and its exam is going to start in December.
Another MBA aspirant, Himani Goyal, is also worried. Like others, she failed to continue with her test on Saturday. She said there is a wedding in the family and she especially opted November 28 before the wedding date. “But my exam falls in between that period, I would not be able to concentrate, now my entire career has been ruined just because of this fault”, Himani said. She added it was all mismanaged and frightening. “When I began in the morning, a message appeared on the screen, you are not scheduled for today’s exam. It was ridiculous”, she stated.
The hugely competitive CAT for admission into business schools went online for the first time on Saturday. Several students had a harrowing time at 22 centres across the city and neighbouring areas. Ulhas Vairagkar, director of TIME Institute, a preparatory school for IIM aspirants said, "Today, around 2,000 students were supposed to appear for the exam in Delhi and NCR in the first slot but only 80 per cent could attempt it successfully. We got calls from students in six cities saying they were not able to take the test because the computer system crashed”, Vairagkar told The Pioneer.
“Students faced three major problems on Saturday. First, the software took a lot of time to download. Consequently, the exam got delayed, and when it took off, the system said their IDs or passwords were incorrect. Later, the system hanged in between and created fuss among the students”, he added.
IANS adds: The unexpected fault occurred soon after the CAT examination began in 32 cities, but organisers said it affected only a small number of the 12,000-odd aspirants who appeared on the first day of the staggered exam. The organisers termed the failure as “teething problems” since the test switched over this year to a computer-based system from the earlier optical reader marking paper-based tests.
Satish Deodhar, convener of the CAT committee of the IIMs, said the main reason for the problem was “incompatibility of some software at centres with servers”.
“This is the first time the CAT is being held online. Despite our efforts to keep a demo online, the students clicked wrong buttons which in turn led to the students facing problems. These are just teething problems. We will ensure that the students are accommodated in the slots that will be held over the next 10 days. If such a thing is not possible, then one day would be added to accommodate all the students who faced a problem. Hopefully, this problem will not be repeated again,” Deodhar said.
Said Mohini P. in Bangalore: “It is very disappointing. I had come fully prepared and could not write the exam as I failed to log in to the computer. No one came forward to help me.”
In Mumbai, some complained of lack of communication from the authorities.
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