: The Cochin University of Science and Technology’s (Cusat) national-level Common Admission Test (CAT) for its various programmes is going online for the first time from 2016-17 academic year.
The shift from ‘pen and paper’ format to online comes amidst efforts to ensure transparency and eliminate errors in the conduct of the test for admission to the B.Tech and other courses offered by the varsity.
Every year, thousands of students appear for CAT in centres across the State and outside. The admission to all B.Tech courses and postgraduate programmes, except M. Phil and M.Tech, are based on the CAT rank.
Senior officials told The Hindu that a meeting of the CAT monitoring committee to be held on November 13 would finalise the proposal to shift the test to the online mode.
Interaction with experts
The varsity will interact with experts in institutions already conducting its entrance tests online as part of the latest initiative. Cusat has taken a leaf out of many prestigious institutions, including the IIMs, that conduct its admission test online.
The university officials recalled that the online pattern will cut down lapses in the conduct of the test.
Tough time
They had a tough time this year after students in several centres complained about the poor printing quality of question papers.
The CAT results had got delayed compared to the previous years following the confusion over the distribution of marks for questions that were not legible in the CAT for B.Tech exams.
Illegible papers
Many invigilators had reported that at least 10 to 15 questions in the B. Tech entrance exam held on May 2 were not legible and difficult to read.
The authorities had pulled up the management of a printing press in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu for the poor quality of printing. But the company management had blamed the varsity employees for not taking adequate care while clearing the question papers before going to press.
