Yes, coaching institute teachers (TIME, IMS, CL) do take CAT regularly to stay current with exam patterns and maintain credibility with students. The commenter Big_Man_Hustling from ISB confirmed: "There are several coaching institute teachers who are forced to take the exam every year and they also end up scoring very high percentiles (>99.9x).
" At IIM Ahmedabad (Rs 27.5L fees, Rs 35.22 LPA avg, 99%+ CAT cutoff), coaching teachers collectively add to the top percentile pool with minimal applicant intent.
The practice rationale: teachers need to experience actual exam to write relevant practice material, handle student queries, and market themselves as "expert faculty." Specific institute cases: TIME faculty typically have 99+ percentile records across multiple years; IMS and CL similar. Some institute partners have "lifetime 99.
9+" marketing material. The ethical consideration: teachers taking CAT is legitimate professional development; students giving CAT after IIM admission is questionable. The impact on normalisation is similar to rant-thread concerns - a few hundred high-scoring non-applicants affect top 0.
1% boundary marginally. For aspirants: this is a systemic practice you can't change. Focus on absolute improvement rather than worrying about who else takes the exam.
For future coaching entrepreneurs: taking CAT yearly for 5-10 years builds brand, but it's a significant time investment. Don't pursue CAT yearly for non-career reasons - it's not scalable. Check your eligibility at collvera.