Marginal increase in time and the reduction in the number of sections could be viewed
as positive developments
For those taking the Common Admissions Test (CAT) this year,
the new pattern of the examination will be quite a challenge. The marginal
increase in time and the reduction in the number of sections could be viewed as
positive developments, but they have negative fallout too. According to academicians
preparing students for CAT this year from October 22 to November 18, the new pattern,
while giving more time overall to answer the paper, does not allow the candidates
to choose the amount of time they will spend on each section - every section must
compulsorily be completed in 70 minutes. Candidates should be allowed to decide
which section is a priority depending on their strengths, says Srinivas Belvi, Head-Academics,
and Career Launcher.
"Giving the candidate the entire bandwidth of 140 minutes and letting them decide
which section needs more time would have been a better option than allotting 70
minutes to each section," he said. "Moreover, clubbing the sections on logical reasoning
and verbal ability in one section and quantitative and data interpretation in another,
will pose a challenge to candidates as it is still not clear which assessment takes
priority for doing well in the test," he added. As Ajay Arora of TIME, another leading
CAT coaching centre, sees it, the assessment in the new pattern will be based on
what the student knows, unlike previously when time, or the lack of it, determined
the number of questions the candidate answered.
Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle
