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Proctoring likely if PU holds online exams
With PU yet to announce mode of upcoming semester exam, the university is considering the use of proctoring in case they plan to hold online exams
With Panjab University (PU) yet to announce the mode of the upcoming semester examination, the university is also considering the use of online proctoring in case the exams had to be conducted online.
A meeting of a university panel was held on Friday to deliberate on the matter. Members have recommended that the university should initiate the tendering process for companies who offer online proctoring services to academic institutions.
According to the academic calendar, the odd semester exams of ongoing batches and first-year UG/PG students will start in December at PU as well as affiliated colleges. The classes for the ongoing batches had started in August.
A member of the committee, who attended the meeting, on condition of anonymity, said, “The meeting of the panel was not convened to decide on the mode of examination but to finalise the requirements for the tendering process to be initiated for proctoring during exams.”
Before the last semester exams which were held in online mode, the university was planning the use of image proctoring during exams to invigilate students, but the university did not go ahead with it at that time.
Since the pandemic broke out last year, the university has conducted its semester examinations in online mode three times so far, without any invigilation. However, there was criticism over the sanctity of these online exams. A university official said, “We are gearing up for offline exams so far.”
A former senator said, “When the university could hold the entrance examination, including CET-UG, why is there a difficulty in holding semester exams in physical mode given that many institutions have already conducted exams in physical mode since the last one year.”
NSUI submits memorandum
Members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) on Friday submitted a memorandum to the university demanding that exams be held in online mode. “if classes are conducted online then exams should be conducted online,” they said, adding that in most of the teaching departments, almost 90% of the syllabus has been covered till date and it would be unjust and irrational to conduct offline exams after teaching online.
