Virtual Shiksha

Common Admission Test (CAT) is being held online for the first time. And, as with any other "revolutionary" idea implemented here, it is also leading to disaster.

On the first day on saturday - 28th Nov. 2009, the server went down when students tried to log into the system form their test centers.

Same story continued on sunday. The test had to be cancelled on many test centers due to server problems.

We are now used to this kind of mismanagement in India. The inly thing different here is that this is for premiere "Indian Institutes of Managements". If this is the way they conduct their own matters, then this does raise some very serious questions.

Were expected number of students to log into the system (and thus expected server load) not known in advance? Then why full preparations were not made in that effect? Does not show a shear lack of management form a premiere management institute? What will happen to the morale of students appearing in the exams? Who will compensate them?

These are the questions which will have to be answered sooner than later and responsibility has to be fixed in order to save the prestige of IIMs.