CAT extended by a day, disrupted by virus attacks - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The first computer-based Common Admission Test (CAT) that has been disrupted by virus attacks, has once again upset students with the test extended by a day till December eight. Prometric, the American firm conducting the test through computers has re-scheduled its entrance tests for admission to IIMs to 11 days instead of 10 days as planned earlier. The Common Admission Test (CAT) was scheduled for 10 days from November 28 to December 7. A statement issued by Prometric said with the IIMs support, the CAT 2009 has been extended till December 8. Around 8,500 students had to suffer due to this, so the tests for all of them are rescheduled. "The CAT 2009 has been extended to accommodate, within this year's testing period, all the registered candidates to whom the test has yet to be delivered as scheduled," a statement issued by the firm said. On December 8, the CAT will be held over one morning session in 20 cities -- Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Pune and Varanasi. The Vice President and General Manager of Prometric Ramesh Nava expressed his disappointment and concerns for all the students appearing in the test. "We understand and regret the additional stress and inconvenience caused to candidates who have not been able to test on their scheduled day due to technical difficulties," he said. The disturbed students were asked to contact the candidate care (1800 103 9293) at Prometric and speak to the agents for any problem, including change in dates or centers. Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal had earlier lashed out at the IIMs for a failed test and ordered a probe into the server crash during the online Common Admission Test (CAT) examination.