Recently there were many stories revolving in the media about the relationship of Prometric with the IIMs with respect to the CAT test execution for the year 2010 and the coming years.

Prometric India, the provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services, was awarded an exclusive US$40 million contract by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) to computerize the Common Admissions Test (CAT). The CAT 2009 was the first ever computer-based test replacing the paper pencil tests. Although there was widespread criticism of the conduct of CAT 2009, Prometric India is undeterred. The company has chalked out a long-term plan for its growth in India.

Q. There have been reports in the media that your relations with NIIT have soured recently? Is it true?

Mr. Roy: There is no truth in the reports. NIIT is our long time partner. Our partnership will remain for the times to come. We had chosen a very strong partner for CAT 2009 and the relationship shall continue. There were many lessons from the first computer-based CAT for both of us.

Q. Please tell us about the lessons learnt from the conduct of the CAT 2009 test?

Mr. Roy: There have been many lessons learnt. The lessons learnt will emerge from the analysis of the data that we have collected during the test days. Since the data analysis will take time I am not in a position to definitively answer this question.

By the second week of May this year we will have the report on the conduct of the CAT 2009 test finalized and we will then talk all about the lessons learnt and from that we can explain to the stakeholders what all can be done to further improve the test taking experience of the MBA aspirants.

Q. Will Prometric continue to execute the computer based test for CAT for the year 2010 and coming years?

Mr. Roy: I see no reasons for IIMs to not let Prometric do so. We will be taking all steps to ensure a better test taking experience for the MBA aspirants. With our partner NIIT we are figuring out what all were the issues in CAT 2009. We will release the report in May, as said earlier.

Q. What were the chief objectives of IIMs behind the decision to adopt computer-based test in place of the paper pencil test?

Mr. Roy: This question can be better answered by the IIMs. I can only answer this question from Prometric’s perspective. From your reader’s perspective I would change the question to Why CAT went computer-based?

The computer based test was without doubt a path-breaking initiative of the IIMs. The IIMs took this revolutionary initiative after 33 years of paper pencil test. The paper pencil CAT is now a thing of the past. I don’t see IIMs going back to paper pencil format.

The IIMs took this step of adopting computer based test because of several advantages which the technology provides. Firstly, the computer based test is conducted without any human intervention. The test takers are not left to the mercy of any individual’s subjective evaluation or assessment. The computer-based test also allows you to deliver the test across test centers in a very secure manner. It gives a uniform testing experience to all the test takers.

Q. There were many doubts in the minds of candidates with respect to Online and Computer Based Test. What exactly is the difference between these two?

Mr. Roy: For the information of your readers I would like to mention that CAT 2009 was a computer based test and not an online test. Online tests make use of real-time Internet, but that is not so in case of the computer based test. The computer based test is not at all dependent on the Internet. In the CBT the tests are stored in the server for delivery to the individual computer systems.

Q. Is Prometric going to conduct computer based tests for the exams of Indian universities as well?

Mr. Roy: Right now it will be little premature to comment on this. But Prometric has evoked lot of interests in the different sectors of our economy, be it academics, professional organizations, government offices. They are very keen. Prometric has is already doing IT certifications for various Indian organisations.

Q. So is there any deal finalized with any Indian university?

Mr. Roy: I would like to say that a deal is not finalized quickly. Even with the IIMs the deal took very long time to finalise.

Q. What are the future plans of Prometric in India?

Mr. Roy: Prometric India has its headquarters in Gurgaon. For Prometric, India is a very big market. We have been here since last one decade. We have grown from a small firm to a company of around 200 plus people. Prometric will continue to make investments in the country.