New Delhi: In a bid to avoid mental and physical burden on students due to multiplicity of entrance tests, the Government has decided to streamline admission to management courses starting from 2005- 06.

Human Resource Development Ministry has decided to simplify admission to management courses by conducting Common All India tests for MBA/PGDM programmes from the academic year 2005-06.

However, admissions for the year 2004-05 would be made through one of the five national entrance tests CAT (conducted by IIMs), JMET (conducted by IITs), MAT (conducted by AIMA), ATMA (conducted by AIMS) and XAT (conducted by XLRI), a recent circular from the Ministry said.

The Government's decision also comes in the wake of Supreme Court's recent judgement in the case of TMA Pai Foundation and others versus Karnataka Government.

Common All India Test for MBA/PGDM programmes from 2005-06 shall be for those institutions that are presently holding their own entrance tests and admitting all their students or certain percentage of them on all India basis.

All States shall continue to hold their own common entrance tests for admission to MBA/PGDM programmes in institutions within their States as before. However, these tests shall be restricted to students from within the State only and students admitted on all India basis in the state level institutions shall be admitted only on the basis of all India exams, it said.

A National Co-ordination Committee has also been constituted for the effective implementation of the policy.

PTI