CAT's got your tongue: Verbal section gets tough to crack
Experts put the trend down to effects of globalisation and english gaining more importance. CAT that could not be belled | The wide world of the small cars
By Shruti Sabharwal & Sreeradha D Basu, TNN |
BANGALORE/KOLKATA: Over the last couple of years, the Common Admission Test (CAT) has seen a significant change in the verbal section, which is having a deep impact on many an aspirant. This year was no different, with the verbal section, once considered among the easiest, becoming that much more tough to crack. Experts put it it down to the effects of globalisation and English gaining that much more importance as a language.
The English section of the paper has undergone changes in the past few years to ensure that students have to do more analysis. According to Arindam Lahiri, director, academics, Career Launcher, “It’s not just about mugging a few words or remembering some rules of grammar. A lot of emphasis is being given on comprehension rather than just reading skills.”
Debtosh Mishra, external relations secretary, IIM-Calcutta, agrees. “The verbal section has become increasingly complex logically and requires a firm grasp of the subject. Some say the number of students increase every year so it is a natural phenomenon that the question paper as a whole has become more difficult to crack. In my opinion, IIM graduates have to interact with people from several nationalities and hence, English as the language of communication has gained more importance.”
In the process, however, India’s premier B-schools seem to be losing out yet again on their aim of ensuring a diverse mix of students. The verbal section, where students with humanities background are expected to score better, has been criticised for becoming increasingly complex and ambiguous in the last few years. As a result, arts students are still a small and fast shrinking number in the B-school pool.
The English section of the paper has undergone changes in the past few years to ensure that students have to do more analysis. According to Arindam Lahiri, director, academics, Career Launcher, “It’s not just about mugging a few words or remembering some rules of grammar. A lot of emphasis is being given on comprehension rather than just reading skills.”
Debtosh Mishra, external relations secretary, IIM-Calcutta, agrees. “The verbal section has become increasingly complex logically and requires a firm grasp of the subject. Some say the number of students increase every year so it is a natural phenomenon that the question paper as a whole has become more difficult to crack. In my opinion, IIM graduates have to interact with people from several nationalities and hence, English as the language of communication has gained more importance.”
In the process, however, India’s premier B-schools seem to be losing out yet again on their aim of ensuring a diverse mix of students. The verbal section, where students with humanities background are expected to score better, has been criticised for becoming increasingly complex and ambiguous in the last few years. As a result, arts students are still a small and fast shrinking number in the B-school pool.
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This year, students with an engineering background make up for more than 90% of the 1,050 candidates who have received a call from IIM-Bangalore. A senior professor at IIM-B says this is becoming a cause for concern and changing the English section has not helped. “We would like to have students from the arts background like we did earlier. But it does not seem possible unless the whole structure of CAT changes, which is not likely. Even students with a BSc in math don’t seem to be making the cut.”
“I believe that if two students with a similar verbal aptitude take the exam, they are likely to have different versions for the same questions. I think that there are capable students who are losing out an opportunity to go the IIMs because of the verbal sections,” Ajay Arora, TIME-director, Bangalore, said.
(With inputs from Sushmita Mohapatra)
“I believe that if two students with a similar verbal aptitude take the exam, they are likely to have different versions for the same questions. I think that there are capable students who are losing out an opportunity to go the IIMs because of the verbal sections,” Ajay Arora, TIME-director, Bangalore, said.
(With inputs from Sushmita Mohapatra)
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