Clarify CAT cut-offs, registration fee for PwD applicants; extend application deadline: PSF to TISS

NEW DELHI: The students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have urged the administration to extend the registration period, clarify CAT cut-offs and registration fee for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) candidates, and allow new registrations. The Progressive Students’ Forum wrote to TISS highlighting several issues concerning the admission process for three master's programmes at TISS through the CAT exam.

In a letter to the admissions committee, the student forum said, “For the past two years, TISS has been making multiple changes to the admission process, which has also raised many issues among students and applicants. We are writing to bring to your attention some pressing concerns regarding the admission process for three Master's programs at TISS through the CAT exam.”

The PSF demanded urgent attention to ensuring equality and accessibility, especially for applicants from the PwD category.

TISS has decided to accept CAT scores for admission to three of its postgraduate programmes for the 2025-26 academic year: Master of Arts in Human Resource Management and Labour Relations (HRM and LR), Master of Arts in Organisation Development, Change and Leadership, and Master of Hospital Administration.

TISS admissions through CAT

The students' body raised the following issues regarding PwD admissions to MBA programmes through CAT:

Lack of Clarity on PwD Cut-Off: The admission policy mentions CAT cut-offs for all categories, but the cut-off requirements for PwD candidates have not been mentioned specifically.

Registration Fees for PwDs: The registration fee for admissions does not provide a clear picture of the fee for PwD applicants.

Inadequate Time for Registration: With the CAT 2024 results declared on December 19 and the last date of registration scheduled on December 23, students face time crunch in applying for admissions.

No Provision for New Registrations: The registration portal doesn’t allow new applicants to register, the letter claimed. Upon clicking the new registration button, the system displays a message saying the "last date for registration is over," even when the last date for submitting the applications and paying the fee has been mentioned as December 23.

In view of these concerns, the student organisation has urged TISS to take the following action:

• Extend the registration deadline beyond December 23 to provide more time to the prospective students to apply.
• Clarify the CAT cut-offs 2024 for PwD candidates to eliminate confusion and ensure transparency.
• Provide clarity about the registration fee for PwD candidates.
• Keep the registration portal open to accommodate new registrations as per the official admissions calendar.