Mumbai University to miss result deadline despite Governor’s call
Teachers assessing the Mumbai University (MU) examination papers through the new online marking system have stated that the results will not be declared by July 31. This move comes against Maharashtra Governor C H Vidyasagar Rao asking the university to maintain the deadline for result announcements. The Governor, who is also Chancellor of the university, had asked the institute’s authority to declare all pending results by July 31, 2017.
Members of the Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (MFUCTO) have criticised the varsity and the state government for the delay and for making students suffer. The teachers highlighted that the entire ‘On Screen Marking’ (OSM) process has various loopholes. They said every teacher has to enter his or her mobile number and the OTP (One Time Password) received each time they assess the papers. The OSM then promt for loading of every page of every answer sheet on the screen which takes almost 30 minutes as the speed is slow.
A teacher said, “We have to wait for 30 minutes before we even start assessing. Only two to three pages out of 39 pages of one answer sheet are loaded. I have been assessing around 600 papers since the last 45 days and have managed to get the system working properly only for seven to eight days.”
Some of the teachers have also received wrong answer sheets. Ela Dedhia, a teacher said, “I got answer sheets of different subjects to assess on few occasions. I do not deal with these subjects so how can I assess these papers?”
Another teacher added, “It takes 15 to 20 minutes to assess one answer sheet instead of the usual 10 minutes. There is no way it will be completed by July end.”
On Friday, officials of the university held a meeting with the examiners to discuss the process but without much headway.
“We were just repeatedly told to finish the assessment as soon as possible. There was no mention of improving the online system or rectifying the loopholes. We cannot compromise on the process due to this last minute hurry. Some of us have not even been regarded as moderators,” a teacher added.
The members of MFUCTO questioned as to who will take accountability for the loss that students are facing following the delay. MFUCTO president Tapati Mukhopadhyay said, “Who is responsible for the students who have missed a chance of getting admissions in other universities for further studies? Lakhs of students will waste their academic year due to this delay caused by the university’s failure.”