MU assures students, result mess will not be repeated
University officials claim they have customised, refined and updated their On-Screen Marking system of online assessment process
Students appearing for summer semester examinations of Mumbai University (MU) need not worry about any result delay. The university officials assured they have rectified the online assessment system and there will be no errors in evaluation of answer scripts or declaration of results this time.
Students revealed they fear that the mess which delayed results of lakhs of students last summer would be repeated. Amir Joshi, a student said, “We have seen how our friends suffered last year as the result mess jeopardised their career. We do not want the same thing to be repeated as we cannot afford the stress at all. We hope the university has learnt its lessons and has improved the system.”
The university officials claimed they have customised, refined and updated the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system of online assessment process. Devanand Shinde, acting Vice-Chancellor (VC) of MU said, “We have moved from a situation of crisis last year to a state of consistency now. We have changed and improved the system and there are no technical errors now. We found out the loopholes and updated the system by new mechanisms which has manifested as there were no technical errors in last winter semester examinations as well so students need not worry.”
Improvements like creating a live dashboard of all evaluation and assessment processes, teacher tagging system, segregation of answer scripts and online payment have been introduced. Arjun Ghatule, in-charge Director and Controller of Board of Examination of MU said, “The live dashboard will display data of answer scripts being scanned, uploaded, evaluated and moderated. Various steps of assessment will be displayed in real time on this dashboard so that we are aware of what is happening at every moment. Teachers will be tagged directly according to their subjects the moment they login the system. Also, payment of teachers for assessment is being released
Improvements like creating a live dashboard of all evaluation and assessment processes, teacher tagging system, segregation of answer scripts and online payment have been introduced
online directly into their respective account.”
Answer scripts were initially incorrectly alloted and misplaced in the online system last year as they were placed in wrong baskets. Ghatule added, “We have initiated a mechanism for segregating answer scripts and allotting it to respective teachers of concerned faculty so that there is no confusion. This system has worked and we have not received any complaints of answer scripts being misplaced in winter semester examinations.”
Training for teachers, principals and Information Technology (IT) professionals of various colleges involved in assessment will be given. Principals of colleges will have access to this dashboard so that they are aware of the assessment process done by the teachers of their college and they can keep a tab on them. A training session for principals and IT staff will be imparted in four phases at Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Panvel and Palghar regarding the OSM system of online assessment process. Shinde assured students, “Students need not fear as we have taken necessary measures. We have already begun evaluation and assessment of ongoing summer semester examinations and we will declare the results without any errors.”