The varsity has had trouble as evaluators from different sectors, such as lawyers and chartered accountants, are busy with their routine work. As a result, papers such as taxation and law are yet to be corrected. (Express Archive)
Just after taking charge as the acting Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai university, Devanand Shinde said technical problems in the onscreen assessment of exam answer-sheets, coupled with administrative issues, were the biggest challenges at the moment. The acting V-C, who took charge after Sanjay Deshmukh proceeded on leave, said he is now devising a consolidated strategy to bail the university out of the mess of delayed final-year results.
“Three major problems in the assessment process are causing the lag — administrative, technical, and teachers not turning up. Streamlining the administrative system is the focus. We have to bring all the stakeholders together, including the teachers and the technical team,” Shinde told The Indian Express.
The varsity has had trouble as evaluators from different sectors, such as lawyers and chartered accountants, are busy with their routine work. As a result, papers such as taxation and law are yet to be corrected.
Ahead of a long weekend, Shinde appealed to teachers to keep their focus on the assessment in the interest of students. He said, however, that there was no need to declare more non-instructional days. “With the long weekend coming, it will be difficult to bring teachers in for assessment. We will appeal to them to give up on the holidays so they can finish the evaluation work,” he said. Around 2 lakh papers are yet to be assessed, of which a large chunk is of the Commerce stream.
Shinde, who is the V-C of Shivaji University in Kolhapur, has taken additional charge of MU amid the controversy over the delay in declaration of final year results. Since assuming the new role, he has met with the senior administrators of the university as well as the technical team handling the onscreen evaluation process to understand the problems. “I have been appointed against Deshmukh’s leave. I will be relieved when he returns,” said Shinde.
Deshmukh, who has been facing flak from all quarters over his decision to implement the onscreen assessment process “in a hurry”, proceeded on indefinite leave on Wednesday. Apart from Shinde, governor and chancellor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has brought in Dhiren Patel, director of Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, as the acting pro V-C to resolve the issues in the assessment system.
