Mumbai University's ambitious project of 'on-screen assessment' is still way off it, becoming the reason for stress for lakhs of students whose results are stuck
Mumbai university's ambitious project of 'on-screen assessment' is still way off it, becoming the reason for stress for lakhs of students whose results are stuck.
The fact that it's already May and assessment work, which generally starts a day after the first exam (April 4 this year when B.Com examination began), hasn't even begun yet is giving lakhs of students sleepless nights. Out of the total 19 lakh answer sheets, only 1 lakh have been scanned till now, which means only these can be taken up for evaluation.
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Mammoth task awaits
To control malpractices, MU vice chancellor Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh started 'on-screen assessment' for all faculties, a total of 500 exams. But as the project was initiated right at the beginning of an examination, it took a month just to finalise on an agency that would take care of the technical part of the process. The work began on May 4.
"Evaluation should have begun in April. As of now, only scanning of the answer sheets has started. Professors are waiting for instructions... it's a huge amount of work, to scan 19 lakh answer sheets," said a senior varsity official.
And even as teachers await instructions for evaluation, the training sessions held to explain the process haven't been very useful either. General secretary of the Bombay University and College Teachers' Union Madhu Paranjape said,
"In all the sessions, teachers were only shown a digital presentation of how the process is going to be. There was no hands-on training for anybody. And with the evaluation yet to begin, what problems teachers may face will only be known once the process starts. One thing is certain, the results are definitely going to be delayed."
Testing times
"Results are usually declared by the second half of May. June means a new academic year. It can be pushed till July at the most. But the rate at which the work is moving forward, it is unlikely that the varsity will be able to declare the results on time. This is going to be very difficult for those who want to apply to other institutes," said a final-year B.Com student from Ruparel college who is preparing for his CA examination.
A student in her final year of arts in Ruia college said, "I plan to apply to JNU for higher education. I am tensed if I will be able to match its admission schedule with the delay in results here."
Director of examination and evaluations of MU Deepak Vasave, however, sought to quell everyone's fears, saying the results would be declared on time.
"The on-screen assessment not only ensures transparency, it also means fast-tracking the process. The varsity is working on a war footing to ensure that results are declared soon."
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