IITs & IISc fail to woo aspirants for online CAT : (Slow down Effects CAT Application)

The addition of the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science to the list of institutes accepting CAT score has failed to create an impact on the total number of applicants registered for the online test this year.

Registration for CAT 2011 stands at 2.05 lakh candidates, which is just 1,000 applicants more than last year’s figure. The registration process was closed on Tuesday night.

Though the number of CAT aspirants has witnessed a steady decline since 2009, it was expected to pick up this year. In anticipation, the organisers had also added three new test centres in Bhilai, Dehradun and Jammu.

But a marginal, almost insignificant, increase in registered candidates has come even when reputed B-Schools such as the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University, MICA, Ahmedabad, along with IISc and six of the best IITs joined the CAT camp this year.

The main reason for the decline in the registration, according to CAT convener Professor Jankiraman Moorthy, remains the same as the last few years — the economic slowdown.

“Youngsters would work for a few years and then quit to pursue an MBA degree.

With the job market taking a hit in 2009, the number of aspirants decreased. Things are not looking so great for the economy once again,” Moorthy said. “More importantly, two lakh candidates is still a large number as we (the 13 IIMs) absorb just 3,000 out of them. That’s just 0.5 per cent of the total.” CAT 2011 will be conducted over 20 days this year between October 22 and November 18.