IIM-L DOES AWAY WITH GD FOR 2016-’18 SESSION

LUCKNOW: Breaking away from the tradition, now applicants after belling the CAT (Common Admission Test) would not be required to appear in group discussions for seeking admission at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow for the 20162018 batch. Now, evaluation of candidates will be done only on the basis of the Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interviews (PI) for Post Graduate Programme (PGP), PGP Agri Business Management and PGP Sustainable Management programme.

LUCKNOW: Breaking away from tradition, now applicants after belling the CAT (Common Admission Test) would not be required to appear for group discussions for seeking admission to the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow for the 2016-2018 batch.

Now, evaluation of candidates will be done only on the basis of the Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interviews (PI) for Post Graduate Programme (PGP), PGP Agri Business Management and PGP Sustainable Management programme. Till last year admis- sion was based on weightage of WAT, GD and Personal Interviews (PI).

The document released by chairman admission of IIM-L suggest that 10% weightage will be given to Written Ability Test and 40% weightage for Personal Interviews. Earlier, it was 10% of WAT, 10% for GD and 30% of personal interviews.

A professor who wishes not to be identified said that group discussion has been a part of selection procedure as it tests the communication ability, analytical skills and logical thinking of aspirants. But it has a negative point as aggressive candidates often dominate the discussion, and many times some aspirants with strong managerial aptitude never get a chance to speak.

He explained the Written Aptitude Test in comparison has multi-fold benefits. A candidate can express his/ her thoughts clearly and in an organised manner. Through written test an aspirant can demonstrate their clarity of expression, analytical ability and structured thinking.

In a GD, students who fared well in the Common Admission Test (CAT) — for entrance to the IIMs — are divided into groups of 8-10 and asked to deliberate on a topic from areas such as current affairs, moral and social issues for 10-20 minutes. Some of the IIMs like IIM Bangalore had done away with the group discussion format much earlier.

Incidentally, the government had sparked a controversy when the candidates for IIM director posts had to appear in group discussions, much like prospective students to the prestigious management institutes. A selection panel constituted by the union HRD ministry to pick the director for IIM Lucknow recently introduced the step.