(Photo courtesy: Benson Kua)
Management institutes in Maharashtra are just not able to attract candidates. Out of the 45,747 MBA seats in the state, only 12,321 seats have been filled till now, leaving 33,426 seats vacant. This number does not take into account seats allotted at the institute level or minority seats, the information of which is yet to reach the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) Maharashtra.
After the Central Allotment Process (CAP) round-I (which ended on June 24, 2013), 15,751 seats were allotted out of which 8,840 students took admission. At the end of CAP round-II (which ended on July 3, 2013), 5,185 seats were allotted but only 2,720 applicants reported to the colleges. Only 823 seats were allotted after CAP round-III (ended July 11, 2013) out of which 761 candidates took admission. Available seats for CAP round-IV will be displayed tomorrow, July 16, 2013, at 5 pm on the DTE website.
This year only 20,757 applicants participated in the admission process in the state. Out of the 45,747 seats in the state, 36,469 seats are available in the CAP rounds. Additionally there are 6,988 seats which are institute-level seats and 2,350 minority quota seats and these are not considered in the CAP rounds. The official further informed that b-schools are ideally supposed to update the position of these seats but they have not done it till now. So, while 33,426 seats is the official figure of vacant seats available, the exact number maybe lesser after taking into account the institute-level and minority-quota seats.
Interestingly, in addition to tide over the empty seats problem, many b-schools across Maharashtra have ‘converted’ their minority quota seats to the general category. In the state, 37 b-schools have converted 1921 minority seats to general seats. While this is not a new trend, the large number of seats is indeed surprising. What’s more, this ‘conversion’ spree has not yet ended and more institutes are expected to convert their minority seats in the general category.
Previous updates:
DTE Maharashtra releases final merit list for MBA admissions
(June 18, 2013) By PaGaLGuY News Service
The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra has released the final merit list of students for MBA admissions in Maharashtra this year. According to an official from DTE, the final merit list was supposed to come out yesterday but the process got delayed as DTE had not received all the data on grievances filed at the Application Form Receipt Centres (ARCs). The submission and confirmation of online option/ preference form of CAP Round-I will begin from June 20, 2013.
Candidates can check their final merit status here
(May 31, 2013) By PaGaLGuY News Service
The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra has issued the notification for MBA admissions in Maharashtra this year. The online submission of Centralised Admission Process (CAP) admission forms will begin from June 3, 2013.
View the detailed notification here
Maharashtra DTE releases MBA admissions information brochure
(May 29, 2013) By PaGaLGuY News Service
The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra has released the information brochure for admissions to MBA/MMS/PGDBM/PGDM programmes in Maharashtra for the academic year 2013-14. The brochure contains rules and information regarding admission to these programmes.
Candidates can view the brochure here.
More updates soon.
(May 25, 2013)
By PaGaLGuY News Service
In a move which will come as a shocker to MBA aspirants in Maharashtra, The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) Maharashtra has scrapped the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) for admission to b-schools in Maharashtra this year. The admissions will now be based on the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) scores. This was confirmed by Dayanand Meshram, joint director, DTE Maharashtra to PaGaLGuY.
According to Mr Meshram, the results of the May CMAT and the subsequent GD and PI process would have delayed the academic season. “AICTE wanted us to start the academic season on time. Hence, we decided to scrap the GD and PI process,” he said.
Mr Meshram further informed that the notification will be issued by Wednesday next week and the admission process will begin by second week of June. He stated: “The thinking was that we have to finish the first round of admissions by June 30. Since GD and PI would have taken more time, we have decided to use only CMAT scores for admission.”
DTE believes that this will help bring objectivity in the process. “Earlier, the process was subjective and one could allot any marks in the GD and PI. The process now will be objective based on only CMAT scores.” B-schools all over India have been stressing upon good communication skills among future managers. In that sense, isn’t this a regressive step? “You have to consider the fact that a lot of students from rural Maharashtra take the exam. For most of them, English is a problem anyway. Students who are good in English will be the ones doing very well in CMAT. So, this question does not arise,” replied Mr Meshram.
PaGaLGuY had earlier reported that if seats remain vacant after all three rounds, AIMS Test for Management Education (ATMA) be used for admission. However, now four exams – Common Admission Test (CAT), Management Aptitude Test (MAT), AIMS Test for Management Education (ATMA) and Xavier’s Aptitude Test (XAT) alongwith CMAT will be considered for admission in the fourth round. However, preference will still be given to CMAT takers in this round.
Dr MA Khan, former director of Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) and currently the registrar of University of Mumbai, is not very happy with the decision. He said: “At a time when Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and good private b-schools are having GD/ PI processes, it is not fair that this process is scrapped in Maharashtra. It is very necessary to test the leadership and communication skills of students alongwith their knowledge of theory. In some cases, there might be students who may not have done too well in the exam but have good potential. I think this is done due to the time constraint. I hope that they bring back the GD and PI process next year.” Vijay Page, director general, MET Institute of Management, Mumbai also thinks that this might not be the best thing to happen but under the circumstances DTE had little choice. “If you look at the time DTE has for conducting the GD/ PI, it is very less. Last year the process took about 2-3 months. Since, the classes have to begin by August 1, DTE had no option. Ideally, b-schools would like to meet the prospective students but I guess this process is also fair since the admission is finally happening on merit,” Page concluded.
Earlier, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) chairman SS Mantha had told PaGaLGuY that the May CMAT will not delay the admission process. However, with the current turn of events, May CMAT was clearly not a prudent exercise.