SS Mantha, Chairman, AICTE

As the day for the ‘controversial’ Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) 2012 nears, PaGalGuY.com met up with the man behind it all, SS Mantha, Chairman of the All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Brimming with optimism, he said that CMAT was an enabling provision for aspirants and parents, which would put all their problems with numerous management entrance tests at rest.

Why is a regulatory body such as AICTE entering the entrance exam space?

AICTE is responsible for regulating the expansion, quality, standards, etc. of all management tests. And so, it makes perfect sense for it to conduct CMAT. Even the Supreme Court has given us a go ahead now.

Last December, AICTE brought out a circular to limit the number of MBA entrance tests. And now, it has added one of its own…

Next year onwards, there will be just two exams, CAT and CMAT. AICTE is a regulator under the act of the Parliament and the mandate says we can control the quality of the exam. By introducing CMAT, we have taken our first steps towards this mandate. CMAT is not a test of elimination, instead it ranks candidates according to their merit numbers. It thus makes it much more easier for institutions to select students through CMAT. Whether it is compulsory or not, does not make any difference.

According to some of the top b-schools, AICTE is using a one-size-fits-all approach to regulate them. Your comments.

Why are b-schools saying that? There is the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), which is one exam for all technical institutions. We dont look at only b-schools but the entire spectrum of technical education as defined under the AICTE Act. So, we need to look at the larger interest of parents, students, society and of course the management institutions. We need to look at a policy, which benefits everybody. If some ‘A’ grade management institute feels that AICTE is using a one-size-fits-all approach, then it is their take. We are looking at setting standards for all institutions and disciplines as defined under the AICTE Act. You cannot have a differential testing that looks at different institutions, so we should have a common test that permits higher-rated candidates go to better institutes.

Is it sustainable for a regulator to conduct an entrance exam considering that a high-quality online entrance exam requires a huge capital investment? Shouldn’t publicly-funded institutions such as the Indian Institute of Managements (IIM) work on it instead?

The CAT is looking at the IIMs whereas we look at all the other management institutions. Therefore, the test has to be commensurate with the approval processes and larger requirements of the stakeholders. The final course of action would still be decided by the pending Supreme Court decision in this regard.

Why has there been a delay in declaring the list of b-schools that will accept the CMAT scores?

Why should we take out a list? This is a national test where a student taking CMAT has to be considered by every management institution, then what is the need for a list. Can you say that we will not accept AIEEE? In principal, you can do that, but does it sound right? That is why the institutions are expected to honour the CMAT scores and accept them. If schools do not accept CMAT scores, we shall take it up then. You cannot have a discussion on the topic before the action takes place.

Don’t you think the delay has affected the mindset of the students against taking CMAT?

As an aspirant, if you are asked to appear for ten MBA entrance exams, would you do that? We are putting ourselves in the place of the aspirants and thinking accordingly. If I ask that if you are expected to pay Rs 3,000 for admission forms and prospectus at ten different institutes, how many candidates can afford that?

A number of questions have been raised on the reasons behind holding CMAT amidst delays and confusions. What is AICTE’s take on the matter?

All MBA aspirants are expected to take the exam since its a national merit-based test and all institutions are expected to accept that score. This will help the students get an admission on the basis of their position in the merit list. Students should get into a common test structure rather than a fractured one. There needs to be a yardstick to measure the merit of one million aspirants appearing for the management entrance tests.

What would be the exact data on the final scorecard that the candidates would get at the time of result declaration?

As I said earlier, CMAT is not an elimination test, so there are no cut-offs. The final scorecard would declare the merit ranking of the student in addition to the sectional marks. The criteria for sending a final call to students for GD/PI would depend upon the institutions.

Education Promotion Society of India has raised objections to the CMAT advertisements and have sent a legal notice to AICTE. What would be your comments on the same?

I would not like to comment on the topic. If there is a legal notice, we will settle the matter accordingly.

A number of state governments including Andhra Pradesh have sought an exemption from CMAT this year…

Today, the entire world is shifting to a web-based platform. You are still saying that there should be a pencil-paper format for a management test? The government has huge fundings from the World Bank, but it still finds a pencil-paper format more suitable. It is wrong, there are certain standard maxims and you need to adhere to them.

It is said that the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) will subsume AICTE and the University Grants Commission. What happens to CMAT then?

What is your advice to candidates who are yet unsure of appearing for CMAT?

We want CMAT to be an enabling provision for the candidates and their parents. Today, every institute is holding its own entrance exam which put a burden on the aspirants. Therefore, it is always better that there be one common test to enable the aspirants get admission in any of the AICTE-approved institutes without any hassle.