Evaluation of DU’s online exams a challenge for teachers as time runs out

As Delhi University heads towards wrapping up its first online open-book examination (OBE) for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students of regular and non-collegiate courses, teachers are now worried about the evaluation process ahead of them.

As Delhi University heads towards wrapping up its first online open-book examination (OBE) for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students of regular and non-collegiate courses, teachers are now worried about the evaluation process ahead of them.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the central university – as a one-time measure—introduced the online OBE exams amid much resistance from students and teachers. The exams started on August 10 and will continue till August 31 for around 260,000 students.

According to the guidelines, students can either upload their answer sheets on the website or email it to the varsity in the wake of technical glitches.

Former academic council member Pankaj Garg, who teaches Mathematics at Rajdhani College, said, “If there are over 2.4 lakh examinees and each of them upload around four pages on the portal, there will be at least 10 lakh answer sheets to sort and compile. Students have four subjects on an average, which will only increase the number of answer sheets. Some students have both uploaded the answer sheets on the website and emailed it to the university as well as their colleges, leading to further increase in the number,” he said.

Sanam Khanna, who teaches English at Kamala Nehru College, said moderation can be a factor due to online evaluation of answer scripts. “Teachers rue the fact that there is no clarity even now on the exact modalities of assessment. Generally, we went to the common evaluation centres where a robust moderation was in place, especially for humanities courses where marks can be subjective. Teachers discussed the questions and answers among themselves and moderate marks accordingly. But this time, we don’t know how it will happen.”

She said teachers won’t be able to check for the academic quality of the answers since there were no time-tested mechanisms in place. “An open-book exam for which students don’t have to cite sources runs the risk of compromising academic quality. There may be plagiarism as well but where are the checks and balances?” Khanna asked.

Another cause of worry is that this time around, teaching for third and fifth semesters for UG courses will overlap with evaluation unlike other times. “Most of the teachers are involved in online teaching. So in addition to reading e-resources and taking online classes, they will also be expected to evaluate papers digitally – something teachers were not prepared for. Many don’t even have the necessary devices. The university should take some measures to print the answer sheets uploaded on the portal and send it to the teachers to offer some respite,” said Garg.

The Delhi University Computer Centre (DUCC), the central IT institution of the varsity, is in the process of compiling the answer sheets. “We have a team that is working on this to ensure the same answer scripts are not repeated. A system is being set up where we will filter roll numbers that students mentioned in the e-mail submission and match it with the data uploaded on the website,” said Sanjeev Singh, joint director at DUCC. The university’s Dean of Colleges Balaram Pani said it is likely that the evaluators will start receiving the answer sheets by next week.

The Delhi High Court directive on Tuesday, asking for expediting the results of final-year students to ensure that their higher education prospects are not affected, necessitated the need for a quicker evaluation process.

“While the evaluation process won’t be affected by the offline exams [slated to be conducted from September 14] because different sets of teachers will go for invigilation and evaluation, declaring the results is still a challenge because we have to expedite the process and do it as soon as possible to ensure students don’t suffer,” Pani said.

Offline exams only for those who were unable to appear for their papers

While the Delhi High Court on Monday asked the varsity to conduct offline exams for students who could not appear for their papers beginning September 14, students are confused over the eligibility criteria.

“There is a confusion among students whether they are allowed to appear for offline exams for improving their marks. If so, the results of their online exams should be declared before offline exams start,” said Garg. “Else, the university must provide them with details of how many answer scripts were received by them so that the students can take a call on appearing for the offline exams.”

DU Dean of Colleges Balaram Pani, however, clarified that only physically challenged students or those who were unable to appear for their OBE papers will be allowed to sit for the offline exams.

Asked about students who may not have appeared for all OBE papers, Pani said, “We will look at it on a case-to-case basis and consider accordingly.”