The countdown has begun and CAT aspirants are not the only ones preparing for the big CAT exams. The centres conducting the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2010 are also in the ready-mode. Some centres in the fray this year, that also conducted CAT 2009 and were witness to the numerous glitches, are ready not only with a generator but also a UPS back-up to meet all eventualities. In fact, these were some of the requirements that needed to be met to qualify as a centre this year.

Prometric, the agency appointed by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), to conduct CAT on-line, has completed the audit of the chosen sites and is in the process of uploading the testing software and conducting tests, this time to get it absolutely right.

Prometric has partnered with two companies MeritTrac Services Pvt Ltd and Everonn Education Ltd as its on-ground partners for CAT 2010. Both companies replace NIIT which participated in CAT 2009 and was held responsible for many of the glitches that were reported.

Though, many of the CAT sites did have their back-up in place, there were few, like Rajasthan College of Engineering for Women, Jaipur, that had to go shopping soon after the demands were put forth. There are also some, like Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, Ahmedabad, that refused to buy generators for the test, saying that they will not need it during rest of the year, so is pointless making a purchase just for the CAT exam.

At places like these, Everonn is apparently bringing their own generator, just in case needed.

When PG tried to speak to some of the centre supervisors, which are the principals, and the staff at the test sites, the common answer was, ‘Please contact us after October 27. We have been asked to not speak about the exam or the preparation. But there were a few who agreed to speak to us, on condition of anonymity.

Last year the labs at our institute where CAT was conducted were taken over by NIIT only a week or 10 days before the exam. This time, we surrendered the computer lab almost a month in advance, said a principal.

Though the testing process for the LAN and other operations is already on, the test agencies will be conducting their final test on October 25, only after which final certificates will be issued to the test sites and the CAT test would begin from October 27. That test is expected to be of the scale at which the final test will be conducted, said another principal of an engineering college added.

In some of the centers, the testing agency has asked them to even provide security personnel, which means about 3-5 male guards and 1-2 female guards. Last year, the security personnel were provided by NIIT. Prometric has also decided to video record the testing process and installed cameras in the testing labs. At most centres, the cameras had to be brought in by Prometric or the two partner agencies.

Principals, (of centres conducting CAT this year and also conducted them last year) urge students to first read the instructions carefully and seriously and secondly, gauge their travel time to the centre depending on the venue of the selected test centre.

My last year’s experience was that there were students who did not have the originals of the documents asked came up with lame excuses for not having them. This time, they will not be excused and they might loose their only chance to CAT 2010 for something that could have been avoided,” warned a principal

The second type of operational problem, say principals deals with candidates coming from out-station to take the test. “We had candidates who arrived in the morning before the test and were searching for the test centre for two hours, missing their deadline of entering the class. There were others who had to go without food, till the test ended because they could not find a decent place at 7 am to have breakfast. The candidates taking the test should watch out for these kind of things and plan their test centres, date and even slot accordingly, said another principal.