June 02, 2022, Online / Offline examinations..

This write-up is contributed by Mr. Sugato Roy.

Online / Offline examinations..

Apart from the usual political and general interest news like rising crude prices and essential commodities, centre-state relations,  Russo Ukraine war, and IPL matches, the other reports which have caught the interest of the public with mixed feelings are the student protests on almost all campuses regarding the conduct of exams in offline/online mode. Almost daily the students on various campuses are vociferously agitating and pressing their demands that the semester and final exams be conducted in online mode.  The country had no option but to go for the online mode of exams during the academic years 2020 and 2021 because the devastating and shattering coronavirus pandemic shook the world. Life almost came to a standstill including the closure of schools, colleges, universities and other seats of learning. Primarily that is why online education became the order of the day otherwise students would have been doomed and missed two years of their academic careers. Maintaining social distance was the major criterion to stop spreading the dreaded coronavirus. There was no way out but to opt for online mass education and the mass examination system.

Let us dive in and have a quick look at the pros and cons of both forms of examination. 

Offline form of exams — The traditional form of exams which all of us have faced and passed are being lauded by the majority of academics. The physical presence of the candidates at the examination centres with proper documents like admit cards etc is binding. Offline exams are either paper-based or computer-based. There is no snag in any technical issues like a problematic net connection. A proper and serious ambience is maintained in offline exams as the supervisors keep a constant guard to check for any malpractices. Offline exams are truly beneficial for students belonging to marginalised families as stationeries required are minimum. For students in science streams like physics, chemistry and life sciences, teachers prefer the offline mode as the practical classes and the knowledge of the individual students can be properly assessed and gauged. Face to face supervision and interaction is of paramount importance. From the institutions’ and the examinees’ points of view, the affordability of conducting the examinations is also very important. Moreover, since offline exams have to follow a predetermined strict schedule, candidates are much more serious. The most important issue is that students in semi-urban and rural areas can be confident that there will be no hindrances during the examination process as no net connection is involved.

The online form of exams — The foremostrequirement of the online mode of exams is a steady, continuous and uninterrupted net connection as the platform is virtual. A desktop or a laptop device and a stable secured net connection are all that are required. In a way conducting exams in the online mode is cost-wise much cheaper as there is a negligible operational cost. From the candidates’ point of view, the online mode of exam is more preferred as they can appear for the exams in the comfort zone of their house and they will not have any tension reaching the examination centres beforehand. The candidates can have a very last peek at their notes. A double advantage of the online mode of exams since only digital tools and methods are required is that the timings can be flexible since the structure is allochronic. Security and keeping a strict vigil during the exams is a very important issue as well as any technical apprehension that can crop up during the exams. However, to check malpractices and cheating during the exams the authorities can have easy access to the Proctortrack software which has been proved extremely result-oriented. The outcome of the exams is expected faster than the offline mode.

    Both the systems of examinations have their shortcomings and strengths. The online form has shown the country and the world that nothing is impossible even during the hardest of times. At the same time with the pandemic almost slowing down, academics favour the offline mode. Serious students and all those who have studied well and are confident will not resort to unfair means, whatever the system.  For them, the online or offline mode does not matter at all.

Mr. Sugato Roy

GRADUATE FROM ST XAVIER’S COLLEGE AND POST GRADUATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA, SPECIALIZING IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT.  PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE OF 24 YEARS IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLISHING INDUSTRY.  HAS BEEN AWARDED FOR  LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY MANAGEMENT.

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