Students can move HC over CAT fiasco

Despite all efforts by Prometric, the online Common Admission Test (CAT) continues to give problems even today. The US-based company and IIM
Ahmadabad, which is monitoring the exam, have also extended the examination by a day, but thousands of students who faced problems are still clueless about what to do. Even on Monday, students appearing at Priyadarshini College of Engineering faced many problems, right from logging in to disruption in connectivity.
Gautam Puri, vice-president and co-founder of Career Launcher, which conducts coaching for CAT, said students can submit an online complaint at a link (http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus) provided by Prometric, which also conducts examinations like GATE. "All the affected students must fill a form on this link. They will be asked their CAT registration number and CAT voucher number, along with name. Under the subject tag, they have to select an options like 'I was not satisfied with the experience on the exam day' etc," he said.
Another way to register a complaint is to send an e-mail to the directors of all seven IIMs and apprise them of the problems. "If you fail to receive a favourable reply for a long time, you can straightway approach the high court for remedial action," he said, adding that his suggestions were based on legal opinion sought by him.
Puri however warned that aggrieved candidates facing a genuine case of disruption should first contact concerned officials of Prometric and the IIMs, requesting them to reconduct heir exams. "There was a live video recording facility at each test centre and therefore when you approach the HC, your version could be tallied against it. In case of any discrepancy, you may land in trouble. The students and parents should also take necessary legal advice before moving the court," he said.
When asked why coaching institutions are not moving the court against the CAT chaos, Puri, himself an IIM graduate, said he had received a slew of mails asking if they can file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). "According to our legal advisers, we can't do it for a couple of reasons. Supreme Court guidelines say that admissions are out of the purview of PILs. Additionally, since we're not the affected party, we cannot move the judiciary. However, the students can file a petition before any of the HCs, which has jurisdiction over the concerned test centre. However, this option should be utilised only if Prometric or the IIMs do not respond positively to your grievance," he cautioned.
How to file a complaint
1. Go to http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus.
2. If you do not get a convincing reply through Step 1 and if you suffered any of these problems:
* Ambience (disruptions throughout the test that hampered your performance, large-scale cheating, etc.)
* Loss of time due to server issues or technical glitches
* Questions/figures/choices were not visible on the screen
* Frequent or constant disruption due to technological problems
* Compelled to submit your test before the stipulated time period because of technological or other issues
* Not being allowed to use features such as 'Mark' and/or 'Review'?
* Any other pertinent issue
Write all relevant details and send e-mails to all seven IIM directors: director@iimahd.ernet.in, director@iimb.ernet.in, director@iimcal.ac.in, director@iimk.ac.in, diroffice@iiml.ac.in, director@iimshillong.in, and director@iimidr.ac.in.
3. If you fail to receive a favourable reply, or no reply at all for a long time from the IIMs too, you have the option of approaching the relevant high court for remedial action.