Well the answer is No for now. This year CAT 2020 is conducted by IIM Indore and according to sources, IIM Indore has issued a statement that there is minimal chance of change in anything for CAT 2020. Everything is going as per schedule. The necessary precautions will be taken for sure but change in any schedule will mostly not be there.
Like many Competitive exams like NEET, JEE Mains and others, CAT was also expected to be delayed but now it seems that it will not be happening. For CAT, around 2.5-3 lac students appear for the exam and it is very difficult to ensure social distancing and follow safety norms when you are dealing with such a large number of students.
Since 2009, CAT is a computer-based exam. There is steady rise in number of CAT exam takers during last three years. There were 199,632 test takers in CAT 2017 which increased to 209,405 in CAT 2018 and to 209,926 test takers in CAT 2019. This year, TCS is conducting CAT 2020 at 450+ testing venues in more than 150 cities.
Now, till now the details are as follows/;-
- CAT 2020 website will go Live in August 2020.
- Safety of students and test conveners will be of utmost priority.
- Safety of students and test conveners will be of utmost priority.
From 2016, TCS has partnered to conduct CAT 2020 exam in all the states and in 2020, they are planning to increase the test centers to avoid mobility of students from one state to another and to assure enough space keeping in mind the social distancing norms and safety protocols.
Now, Most of the people are skeptical that CAT 2020 will be postponed because:-
1- Delay in the admission process and Academic Sessions:-
The results of all the IIM’s were delayed and their admission process was running till june also. Many younger IIMs are still in process of completing their admissions. For instance, IIM Jammu, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Kashipur, IIM Nagpur, IIM Udaipur, IIM Bodhgaya have prepared waitlists of selected candidates and sending admission offers to them.
Another reason cited for possible delay in CAT 2020 is the delay in starting new academic session. The academic session in IIMs used to start by mid-June but this year IIMs will only start academic session 2020-21 in August. UGC and AICTE have also revised their academic calendar and have directed the MBA/PGDM colleges to commence session in August. Besides, the last date to offer admission has also been extended to August 2020
2 – COVID-19 to peak in November in India:-
According to amny experts, COVID-19 will come to a peak in November and that is the main reason why experts are thinking that taking in mind the safety of students, the CAT 2020 could be delayed.
The dates for top entrance exams like Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main) 2020 and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG-2020 have already been announced. The exams are scheduled in September 2020. Besides, University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued guidelines on July 6, 2020 to all universities and colleges to conduct their term and final exams latest by September 2020.
No of candidates taking JEE-Main 2020 are 11.19 lakhs and for NEET 2020 the total candidates are 16.84 lakhs. IIM-CAT 2020 is expected to have around 2.5 lakh candidates of all categories. Despite being the largest MBA entrance exam, CAT is a smaller exam than JEE and NEET. If these big exams can be conducted without difficulty, CAT 2020 may also be conducted as per the schedule.
Basically, many experts say that if they consider this situation, so it TCS could make a huge change in the CAT 2020 pattern just like GRE/GMAT. It could be a remotely procured exam which students can give sitting at home just like GMAT. But all these things are now not considered and IIM Indore and TCS are determined to conduct CAT 2020 on time only. But as the situation gets changed, it is possible to see some changes in that.