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The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) changed the pattern of TISSNET and introduced a new TISSMAT exam just two months before the exam. Students are left perplexed and the student union is protesting.
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) changes the examination pattern for the TISS National Entrance Test (TISSNET) barely 2 months before the entrance exam. Not only have they changed the exam pattern but have also come up with a separate examination named TISSMAT (TISS Management Aptitude Test) for management candidates taking up the specialisations of Organisation Development, Change and Leadership (ODCL) or Human Resource Management and Labour Relations (HRM & LR).
With the unchanged schedule of the entrance test of TISS which is fixed on the 4th January 2020, the new pattern and separate examinations have managed to baffle the candidates who have been preparing for the exam as per the old pattern.
The notification regarding this came after two weeks after the application registration of TISSNET was on full swing! On 6th November, Wednesday, TISS Students’ Union condemned the exam policy changes. The union alleged that the decision was made without involving any student representation. The students union has demanded that the exam policy changes should be revoked with immediate effect.
TISS previously conducted a single entrance test for granting admissions to all of its courses. The TISSNET marks were subject to 40 per cent weightage in the selection process of a candidate, but it will now function only as a filtration method following which the admission will depend fully on marks scored in essay writing and personal interview sections.
Harshit Singh, a resident of Indore said that he has been preparing for TISSNET for HRM&LR admissions but now he will have to take the TISSMAT examination instead and all his preparation will go waste.
He informed that English and Mathematics were the main subjects for TISSNET, but for now, Economics related subjects will also be a part of TISSMAT. He further said that for a student like him coming from B.Com background the previous examination was already very tough.
Another candidate from Gorakhpur, Shwatank Vats said that the decision will affect the candidates belonging from rural areas even more as their voice against the decision will be left unheard. Vats had applied for masters in criminology and justice, rural development and public health in TISS. He says that there is no notified parameters on which essays will be assessed so there will be an uncertainty in the interviews.
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The president of the student union of TISS Mumbai, Mr Bhatta Ram said that the decision is arbitrarily taken as there was no member of the student union involved in the decision. He expresses that the student union is opposing the decision and demands the withdrawal.
The student union has written a letter to the administration of TISS stating the fact that students from the non-management background will not be able to crack the examination and after all, the degree awarded from TISS is not MBA but MA. Coaching centres which have mushroomed throughout the country will commercialise this and will try to gain profits.
