Education

'CAT loses applicants, but MBA remains big hub for

carrier'

Kamal Dave (Rajkot/Ahmedabad)

5th October, 2009

As per our Government latest fact and figure recession is not longer affected
to the India but it seems to have affected MBA aspirants. Coaching classes
for MBA in the city are witnessing a drop in the number of candidates
enrolling for the training course. Reasons have been attributed to the recent
economic downturn and Common Admission Test (CAT) going online.

Many believe that with CAT getting computerized, a number of students

have lost interest in appearing for the exam. However, despite a 12 per cent
drop in the number of candidates registering for the aptitude test, experts
are optimistic about the situation improving.

KMK Institute Mr. Kashyap Dholakiya from Rajkot said, "Every year, around
1000 students come to KMK institute for counseling. But this year, there has
been a drop of around 25 per cent in the number of candidates approaching
the institute. Of this 25 percent, around 70 per cent to 80 per cent students
appear for CAT."

Another the chain series of the PT education Rajkot branch head Mr. Dhaval
Raidhdha said that because of the computerize system introduce in the CAT
entrance exams reduces the student strength. Due to this reason and also
the current recession factor reduces our all branches stident strength by
30%.

Mr. Hitesh Devalia of the Endeavour carrier Pvt. Ltd Ahmedabad said, "Many
students are opting for GCET and similar other exams instead, while many
others prefer pursuing higher studies (MA, CA, MTech) after their graduation.
And their switch in interest is plausible considering that CA and engineering
offer relatively better career opportunities."

After the recent economic slowdown and its adverse impact on the corporate
sector, students don't see placement guaranteed in any of the B-schools.
They find cracking other competitive examinations like Bank PO more
reasonable as they offer a secured job, he added.

However, even professionals are of the opinion that the slump in the number
of students appearing for CAT is just a passing phase, and is not likely to stay
for too long. They believe that the trend is true only for CAT and not for MBA
since students are appearing for other exams like MAT, XAT, GCET.