Admission to MBA / PGDM 2020-21 can happen without CAT/XAT/GMAT/CMAT tests scores

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in a circular issued to all institutes offering MBA / PGDM said that the requirement of entrance-test scores for admission to MBA and Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) is no more mandatory under the current COVID-19 situation. 

Instead, students can be admitted to MBA/PGDM/PGPM programmes on the basis of their academic scores.

The AICTE circular clarifies that the normal guidelines for admission into any management institutes on the basis of MBA entrance tests scores of any national-level entrance exams or the Common Entrance Tests (CETs) conducted by state governments, has been relaxed only for the academic sessions of 2020-21.  

The circular, issued by AICTE member secretary Prof. Rajive Kumar, also said, “However, first preference will be given to those candidates who have appeared (qualified) in any of the entrance tests.” 

The circular mentioned : 

All India Tests i.e CAT, XAT, CMAT, ATMA, MAT, GMAT along with the 7th option of Common Entrance Test of the respective State are the qualifying tests for admission into PGDM course. In many of the States, some of the above entrance tests could not be conducted due to fear of spread of Corona Virus and there is no indication as to whether these tests are postponed or likely to be held or cancelled etc. 

AICTE, being more a facilitator than a regulator considered alternative proposition through which selection of the students could be made for admission into PGDM course which will benefit both the Institutions as well as the students.

 Therefore, in the current scenario, the PGDM / MBA institutions are allowed to admit the students on the basis of marks obtained in qualifying examination by preparing a merit list in a transparent manner.

While all the six national-level tests have already been held — mostly in the early days of the lockdown — many states have failed to conduct their CET.

On the other hand the central government and its examination body, the National Testing Agency (NTA), is yet to acknowledge the protests by states, students and parents for holding the national-level engineering (JEE Main) and medicine (NEET) entrance tests in September. READ 

AICTE’s move towards waiver of MBA entrance test scores for admissions raises questions on the NTA’s insistence to stick to the decision to hold JEE Main and the NEET.

It is to be seen now how the admission committee of the top MBA/PGDM business schools react and act up on the changes as suggested by AICTE.