A horror called online IIM-CAT 2009

I write this blogpost with a lot of pain, and a sense of deep responsibility towards the students community.

The Common Admission Test (CAT) for the Indian Institutes of Management is touted as one of the best entrance tests of its kind, and has close to 160 colleges linked with it. This year, the entire process of conducting the test has been taken "online", and has been outsourced at a hefty price tag of around USD 40 million (for a period of 5 years, as reported in leading mainline English dailies) to a company called Prometric of USA.

I have been tracking the IIMCAT for 20 years now, and have been analysing it professionally for more than 12 years now.

Today (Saturday 28/11) was the first day in the series of 10, when CAT is planned in 2 slots each day (morning and evening). Thousands of students across India wrote the test, or tried to write it. Students and faculty of my institute PT education too wrote the test, and hence we learnt everything from a first person perspective.

Before moving on, here is a near-perfect unfortunate prediction made by us in August 2009 regarding the possible fate of this amazing unprepared exercise being contemplated by IIMs. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW to watch this video (esp. 5:00 - 5:30)



I observed the entire proceedings with interest across several cities in India, and here are my observations.

Shameful dereliction of duty by Testing authorities

1. The testing authority is of a true Yankee pedigree. They hardly understand the Indian cultural milieu, and have tried to transport a whole system from the US to India without adequate and much-needed local cultural adaptations. The IIMs are desperate to make the CAT an international test, and they think that only Prometric can help them do it. (on a philosophical note, I would think otherwise, as we know that the American model of capitalism itself under a dark, ominous cloud)
2. My first brush with their insensitivity was when they uploaded the first training video (for CAT applicants) in August on YouTube, and I found that two Indian looking characters speaking in amazingly irritating American accents were trying to share process gyan with Indian students. My reaction that day was "IIMCAT to gayi paani mey. This company will ruin it this year". Please refer my blogpost on this topic.
3. I strongly feel that in India, there is no point in using an American accent to create and peddle your stuff. Indian accents will do just fine with 99.9% of us (as for the rest, they are already in the US so forget about them!). This video itself revealed two possible thought patterns - a false sense of tremendous superiority, and a total lack of understanding of cultural nuances. My fear was born that day.
4. The entire process of registrations of CAT Applicants was bogged down in procedural errors, and tremendous amount of heartburn for students. We are trainers, and know firsthand how much stress it created for students and families. Far removed physically from the scene of action, and now shielded behind the veil of "online" purdah, the IIMs and Prometric did nothing but issue clarification after clarification. Talk to any applicant and she will tell you that the software was uploaded without any testing. It was a beta! A beta, running the CAT process. Imagine.
5. Today, on the first day of the hallowed CAT, the entire system came tumbling down.
• The test was cancelled at more than 10 locations in India. Thousands of hapless, stressed-out and anxious students were given no clue as to what will happen next. I found students crying, desperate and totally lost out.
• At some location, students were made to wait for upto 5 hours (without food, water, toilet facilities) and then tersely told to either behave or go away (and we will let you know of your test slot by sms and email).
• Countless errors cropped up at almost all test locations. The software acted funny, and students were left totally bewildered.
• Many students lost out even after working the test for almost the entire duration - a girl at Delhi reported that in the last 30 minutes, the screen went blank.
• For several minutes and hours, at many locations, the test was delayed beyond the official start time (that now seems to be the least of their mistakes!)
• The staff present on the scene was either from Prometric, or from the local Engineering colleges hired for testing purpose, or from the party Prometric subcontracted to further - NIIT.
• Students reported that the quality of most of these people was so pathetic that it was useless to expect solutions from them! At one location, one of the invigilators kept informing students reading out from some official document stating that "... and if you do not follow our instructions, we will report a file. We will report a file".   Report a file? Or file a report?  MORONS.
• The physical security at all locations was supertight. The actual testing process at many - totally unreliable. It is like putting the best rocket launching pad in place, and then putting a bullock cart hoping it will take off in full gusto to reach the Moon. And beyond (remember, it's a 5 year contract!)
6. To all this going on, the official reactions of IIMs and Prometric (till today evneing) were
• There are no problems
• There maybe some rescheduling of tests for some candidates
• These are isolated incidents
• Nothing has been cancelled
• No servers have crashed
• Don't un-necessary blow things out of proportion
• Errors will happen, what else did you expect in such a big exercise

Things Prometric does not know about Indian students
(and the IIMs ought to have told them)

1. India is a developing nation, not a post-modern society like the US
2. In India, writing a competitive test is not an individual affair, it is a family affair
3. Parents mortgage their possessions and property (in many cases) to help their kids prepare for such tests from big cities
4. The social reputation attached with success (and failure) in writing competitive tests in India is ABSENT in the USA
5. People work hard for upto 24 months preparing for the CAT - that's not a joke
6. The local dynamics of India are quite different - when a technician tells you that a job will be done, he means it will be done in the 3rd or the 4th attempt (Hence, at least 2 dry runs must be done before attempting anything as grand as an online pan-India IIM-CAT) for the first time

Strategies used to handle things so far

1. Give no time to anyone to react - almost all important instructions come at the last moment, including the eminently enjoyable and farcical gag order for students released 2 days ago advising them to "keep your mouths shut after the test is over or else 2 years in jail"  Ha ha ha, lol!
2. Make assumptions about things - how can we be wrong on anything? We are too big to fail
3. Even if we fail, what? - ultimately, can students really do anything, except meekly submit and bear the brunt of our naivete and inefficiences bred out of arrogance

Today, the media was livid at all this. I interacted with many channels and newspapers today, and realised that everyone is worked up on this. Everyone, except maybe those who were responsible for all this.

What has this mess done to the reputation of the IIM-CAT? Well, a lot of damage. And it has personally made me very sad to see a grand Indian institution - the IIM-CAT - go literally down the drain (on the first day) the way it went.

I was also shocked to see the spineless approach of some of my own trainer colleagues from the industry, who advocated in a press meet that "Well what's done is done. Let's be positive now". I responded on the spot that "Tell this to the student whose entire effort of 2 years was dashed to dust today by the ignoramuses".

What we expect now

1. A public apology by the IIMs and Prometric - come on! Accept that you goofed up big time and say sorry. It will only increase your stature.
2. A "Plan B" - the alternative action plan must have been announced by Saturday evening itself. It was not. Apparently, they were just not prepared. Students of even elementary management science know that contingency planning is the key to successful long term execution.
3. Compensation to distressed students - the time, cost and efforts of thousands of students who were inconvenienced beyond imagination.. is there nothing to it? Will the HRD ministry wake up and take note of what's happening? How long with the ministry allow such an autonomy (which is nothing but a licence to play around with kids' future)

I feel strongly about inefficient Professors masquerading as world-class Project Managers and in the process tarnishing an institution. Honestly sirs, give this test-conduction to me, and I will do a better job of it. You claim to teach best of management science to students, and is this how you put it into practice? Shame. For the kind of moneys being spent, this is hardly the ROI we expect. We were looking forward to a terrific testing experience, and what we got was a weekend adventure trip down the big vertical canyon.

Maybe it's truly time for you to return to basics - as Dr Peter F Drucker would have said "Efforts alone are of little use, results must follow".

May better sense prevail. May the students' efforts get the right benchmark, and may Indian management education once again enter its halcyon days.

DEAR IIMs - RESTORE THE ORIGINAL GLORY OF THE IIM-CAT.



Important tips for students (IIM-CAT takers) - the authorities have said that testing will continue as per schedule. Nothing is cancelled. Please report in time, on all days. Do not at all assume that tests are cancelled. And as for the tests on day 1, the tests were easy (compared to last year), and anyone who has taken proper training should do well. Those who are unfortunate in not being able to write the test, should wait for an sms or email telling them of the fresh testing slot. So here's wishing you BEST OF LUCK for a great future ahead!
~

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