Karnataka - Bangalore

IIM-B makes evaluation public

BANGALORE: The Right to Information Act has changed the way everybody looks at everything; from governance to transparency in entrance examinations.

For the first time in its history, the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIMB) has gone pro-active and disclosed the details about the break-up of marks and evaluation procedure, on its web site.

All details, from what it looks for in a candidate to basic nitty-gritty regarding the weightage given to different criteria, have been disclosed. The web site declares that this is specific to IIMB and has been formulated in consultation with experts and looking at applicants so as to avoid bias.

There has always been speculation about the procedure as such. While it is common knowledge that it is a two-phase process, IIMB has come out in the open about the weightage given to prior academic records and the scales used to evaluate work experience.

It states that candidates with work experience are preferred over others.

“This is certainly an advantage for those who work. This emulates the foreign system where most people get a solid amount of work experience before they step in. It is obvious because you cannot learn a lot of the concepts if you don’t know what they are talking about,” said Gokul K.C., who is appearing for the CAT for the second time.

The web site put up the minimum percentile requirement for different categories for 2007. It is way too early in the day for students to worry about the nitty-gritty but once the CAT is over, the wait and the speculation begins.

With several coaching centres giving out answer-keys, students lose no time in evaluating themselves.

“Several colleges base their admissions on CAT scores and these admission forms cost money. So it helps to know exactly where you stand,” said Ashlin M., a student at ICFAI. Last year’s cut-off score indicates that a general category student needs to score 90 per cent aggregate while an ST student should average around 65 per cent. The document in question brings to light the fact that 5 per cent of the score in the second phase of evaluation deals with a quotient termed “group discussion summary language score”. This is bound to be a source of concern for many considering that several students from non-urban background may not be proficient in English.

“Students clearing the entrance were from largely urban backgrounds before, now the case is different. Even foreign universities insist on TOEFL scores,” said N.S. Ramaswamy, former director of IIMB. The data reveals that the CAT score only accounts for 20 per cent of the evaluation in the second phase.

The pdf file released on the web site is similar to that which was released when Vaishnavi Kasturi appealed to the IIMs to make the process public.

“While this document is simple, it is not so easy to interpret it at the first stage,” said Ajay Arora of TIME coaching classes.

“Media reports have tried to over-simplify something which is a complicated method of evaluation. We will analyse this statistically on the basis of what we find from our experience with earlier batches,” he added.

While the IIMB declaration is being welcomed, students will point out that they have no time for any analysis. “All analysis is after the battle. You need to win the battle to qualify for the war,” said Mr. Gokul.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu