Around 1000 students today appeared in the first round of Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) at various centres in Srinagar.According to the data released by the State’s Education Department, which was coordinating the exam, out of 1050 students who had registered for the twin examinations, 982 students (93.5%) appeared in the first round of the test conducted at various centres in Srinagar including Kashmir University, National Institute of Technology Hazratbal, NIELIT Rangreth, SSM College, Study Web and V-Genius Solutions Pvt Ltd.The second round of the examination will be conducted tomorrow at the designated centres.Pertinently, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had earlier decided to establish CMAT and GPAT examination centres only in Jammu for the students of the State.
However, following the intervention of the Minister for Education, Mr Naeem Akhtar, AICTE agreed to establish the examination centres in Srinagar, as otherwise, a large number of aspiring students would have missed the test due to blockade of highway and air traffic disruption following heavy snowfall in Kashmir.GPAT is the national level entrance exam conducted to select suitable Pharmacy graduates for admission into the M Pharma programme. Scholarships and other financial assistance in the field of Pharmacy are also given to the students on the basis of the GPAT score.CMAT is also national level entrance examination conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year, as per the directions of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India for admission to various graduate courses in recognized institutions.
CMAT and GPAT are three-hour computer based online tests conducted in a single session to evaluate the candidate's ability across various segments like Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension and General Awareness. The score is accepted by all AICTE-approved institutions/university departments/constituent colleges and affiliated colleges.