Oxford University says TCS won't conduct admissions tests due to technical problem: Report

Oxford University has severed its partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as its admission test provider citing “technical problems" following feedback from candidates, test centres, and parents, a report said on Tuesday. In April 2023, TCS iON, the learning and assessments arm of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), was shortlisted by Oxford University to deliver a share of the university's admissions tests from 2023 onwards.

TCS had replaced Cambridge Admissions Assessment Testing (CAAT) in providing technical support for the admission tests to the university.

But now, Oxford University has said that TCS will not be “involved" with the university going ahead, Livemint reported.

“Following the technical problems experienced by some candidates during the delivery of this year’s online admissions tests by a new provider, TCS will not be involved in the delivery of Oxford admissions tests going forward," Oxford University said in an email response.

The University said: “This decision has been made following careful consideration of the issues, as well as feedback from candidates, teachers and test centres. Our priority is to ensure a high-quality experience for all candidates and those involved in supporting them, and we are grateful to the students and their teachers for their patience during this process. Details of the new arrangements will be communicated in the Spring, at the start of the next admissions round.”
The university said that the decision has been made after careful consideration of the issues, as well as feedback from candidates, teachers, and test centers.

Last year, the university said in a release that the new agreement with TCS will provide opportunities for the future of Oxford's admissions testing, including the possibility of entirely digital delivery and marking.

Last year, Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head of TCS iON, TCS had experience in this area. He said: “This work has the potential to transform the paper-based testing environment typically still found in educational settings. TCS iON is an acknowledged leader in transforming large-scale, high-stakes assessments in India and elsewhere. We are excited to bring our expertise to make digital assessment possible for its admissions tests.”

Oxford’s holds a number of admissions tests are the CAT (Classics Admissions Test), HAT (History Admissions Test), Oxford ELAT (English Literature Admissions Test), MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test), MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test), PAT (Physics Admissions Test), AMELAT (Asian and Middle Eastern Languages Admissions Test, formerly known as the OLAT) and the Philosophy test (for Philosophy and Theology only).

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services closed at Rs 3861.90, up by 0.03 per cent, on Tuesday.

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