Bhubaneswar, Dec. 26: Students aspiring to seek admission to management institutes in the state have less than a week to register.

Although the second phase of the registration process for the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT), will close on January 2, 2013, very few students have registered for the test this time.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had earlier announced CMAT would be the sole and mandatory test for all AICTE-approved Business schools.

The Supreme Court subsequently passed an interim order on March this year stating that B-schools can continue to use five other nationally recognised tests such as CAT, XAT, MAT, ATMA, JMET for admissions.

Odisha has decided to fill up 15 per cent of the management seats in all colleges through CMAT. “Admission to 15 per cent approved management courses will be carried out only through CMAT merit list and the remaining will be held through OJEE from the academic year 2013-14,” said a senior official in the technical education department.

However, the concern among B-schools is that even as the second session of registration is under way, the first did not see many candidates coming forward for CMAT.

Prabir Pal of Regional College of Management said while over 1,400 students had appeared for CMAT in 2011, the number has come down to 400 this year. “It was important for the state government to spread awareness about the matter and remind candidates that CMAT is the only test for admission to management courses in certain states,” he said.

Students too are confused. “CMAT, is just one of the tests we need to appear for an MBA admission. Since my friends and I are preparing for CAT, we did not think about CMAT,”said Shiuli, an MBA aspirant.

Important points

CMAT will be conducted from February 21 to 25. To be eligible for the test, candidates need to be graduates in any discipline. Final-year students can also apply. While the application fee for general/OBC candidates is Rs 1,200, for SC/ST/PD candidates it is Rs 600. The fee can be paid using both online and offline mode. To apply for the test, students need to first register on the website www.aicte-cmat.in. The last date for registration is January 2, 2013.

Admission process

Detailed merit list will be provided to the respective state governments for admissions through central counselling or in case there is no central counseling, the scores will be used for admission in the AICTE approved institutes / university departments.

Important dates

Print out of hall ticket: February 11

Computer-based test dates: February 21 to 25

Test timings: 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm