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    (Photo courtesy: Satwick Thumu) The Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Anand will use scores of the Common Admission Test (CAT) this year for admission to its Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PRM) and 2014 Fellow Programme in Rural Management (FPRM). The decision was taken because the judgement on the status of the IRMA admission […]

    (Photo courtesy: Satwick Thumu)

    The Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Anand will use scores of the Common Admission Test (CAT) this year for admission to its Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PRM) and 2014 Fellow Programme in Rural Management (FPRM). The decision was taken because the judgement on the status of the IRMA admission test is currently pending in the Supreme Court.

    Speaking to PaGaLGuY on this decision, Jeemol Unni, director, IRMA said: “The decision on IRMA entrance test is still pending and we have not received a hearing date. If we get a favourable order and retain our exam, we will conduct it even if it gets delayed by some time. But if the judgement comes very late, it will hamper the admission process. The timing of the decision will be crucial.”

    IRMA had no choice but to register for using the CAT 2013 scores as the cut-off date for institutes to register is coming to a close.

    The institute will possibly follow the MICA Admissions test (MICAT) model and conduct a separate test alongwith Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) which will address the ‘Issues of Social Concern’, a component which is not present in CAT.

    In case, IRMA gets to retain its exam, in that scenario, the institute will have to use both CAT and IRMA scores for admission. So what will happen in that case? “In that case, our admissions team will work out a model where we can retain our type of candidates,” said Prof Unni.

    Previous updates:

    IRMA wins court battle against AICTE, allowed to retain its own entrance exam for 2013-2015
    (November 7, 2012) By Lajwanti D’Souza

    The apex court, yesterday, has granted the Institute of Rural Management, Anand’s (IRMA) the right to conduct its own entrance exam for the batch 2013-2015. The court’s order has come as a huge relief to IRMA which is certain that only its own exam can net the right profile of students for the institute. The Supreme Court has been hearing the case since Monday, November 5 and had asked for several documents from IRMA which were submitted yesterday. The order was also announced yesterday.

    It may be recalled that IRMA had gone to court last month against the All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) diktat to use only one among the five permissible entrance tests, in which IRMA’s test did not figure.

    IRMA’s entrance exam which is scheduled for November 11, will hence be conducted as scheduled.

    The Bench headed by Justices R M Lodha and A R Dave did states that students’ interest in issues relating to entrance tests and admissions should be given highest importance.

    Advocate Harish Salve, who appeared for IRMA, had requested the court to allow the institute to conduct a separate entrance exam atleast for the 2013-2015 batch and that AICTE could consider designing a separate common entrance test for rural management courses. The Bench, apparently, also agreed with the idea.

    AICTE, in its defence said it was not averse to suggestions.
    IRMA director Prof Jeemol Unni told PaGaLGuY that she was totally pleased with the order and all energies are now geared towards the exam this Sunday. “Yes but now we will have to make some presentations to AICTE so that our position is more clear and we can get a more permanent relief.”

    Ironically, the other diktat by the AICTE insisiting on only one of any five MBA entrance tests has also been contested in court.

    As per IRMA’s website, those seeking admission to IRMA will have to take only the entrance exam conducted by the instiute and none of the others.

    It would be interesting to see what other institutes like the Mudra Institute of Communication will do considering that it complied with the AICTE diktat and added a few of AICTE’s permissable tests to its own exam – MICAT.

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