No common tests for IIFT, FMS

Both The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), a deemed university under the Ministry of Commerce, and Delhi University’s Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) are going ahead with their MBA entrance examinations this month despite recent circulars from the UGC and the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) asking them not to hold separate MBA entrance tests.

The IIFT will hold its entrance exam on January 11 while the FMS exam will be on January 18. The UGC and AICTE had requested IIFT and DU to route admissions through any of the five identified management entrance examinations including the CAT conducted by the IIMs.

“We have requested the UGC and HRD Ministry to allow us to hold the examination this time. By the time the UGC and AICTE circulars reached us, we had already started the process of inviting applications for our entrance exam,” said IIFT’s admissions officer L.D. Mago. The IIFT is currently awaiting a response from the UGC.

Meanwhile, DU’s Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) Dean V. K. Bhalla said that the FMS is going ahead with its MBA entrance exam on January 18.

“We have issued circulars and we expect these institutions to comply. We will decide on the future course of action once our circular is not complied with,” said a senior UGC official.