IIM-L to junk GD round for admissions

LUCKNOW: IIM-Lucknow has decided to drop the group discussion (GD) round from its admission policy for the academic year 2016-18.
The GD has been already removed from the admission process in 11 out of the 13 IIMs, excluding the six new ones.
Chairman, admission, Ashutosh Sinha, said, "It was felt that the faculty needs to be given more time during the interview for better assessment of the candidate.The time spent in group discussion will now be more fruitfully utilized during the interview."
According to the IIM-L policy, the personal interview will account for 40 points and the written ability test will carry 10 points. Last year, 30 points were allotted for personal interview, and 10 each for written ability test and group discussion.
In 2008, IIM-Ahmedabad broke away from tradition and replaced GD with short essays. In 2010, IIM-Bangalore replaced GD with essay-writing. In 2011, six IIMs- Rohtak, Raipur, Tiruchirapalli, Ranchi, Kashipur and Udaipur, replaced it with a written test.
GD has been used as a means to test communication ability, analytical skills and logical thinking of aspirants. Yet, often only a few candidates are able to express themselves and more aggressive candidates dominate the discussion. Aspirants with strong managerial aptitude simply do not get a chance to speak. This procedure makes it difficult for both the participants and the moderator, said a faculty member.