Mumbai: Only 70,000 candidates have registered for the first edition of the national level Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) 2012, to be conducted by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). AICTE will conduct the online CMAT in order to select eligible candidates for admission into 3,500-odd MBA colleges, all across the country. The online entrance test is scheduled to commence from February 20, 2012, which will continue over a period of eight days.
Talking about the less number of applications, S S Mantha, AICTE Chairman, explained that by the time the dates for the CMAT were announced, most of the states had already announced the schedule of their entrance examinations. He further said that it is the first year of implementation of such a distinctive test; however, from next year, the Council expects that the registration will increase.
The announcement for CMAT 2012 was made in the month of December, last year i.e. 2011. Mantha later explained that the main idea behind implementing this national level test is to reduce the number of entrance tests so that the students undergo less stress. All AICTE-approved institutions will have to accept CMAT scores, he added.
The three-hour online entrance test will be conducted at 61 centers throughout India over eight days in two shifts. The 100-mark test will be divided into four different components of 25 marks each, wherein one mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer. However, even as CMAT aims to promote a single entrance test, several other bodies plan to continue with their tests.
As per sources, the Maharashtra State Government has already decided to discontinue the state CET for admissions to B-schools from the next academic year. However, several other states have decided to accept CMAT from the next academic year, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Furthermore, an official from the Directorate of Technical Education confirmed that from next year, admissions in the state will be completely based on CMAT scores and hence, this is the last year for the state CET.
For any further details, one can visit the Council’s official website: http://www.aicte-india.org/
