Mumbai University teachers, principals to undergo training in onscreen assessment

Mumbai University (Express photo)

TEACHERS AND principals of the University of Mumbai, who are set to assess answersheets for the winter semester exams, will undergo compulsory training in onscreen assessment process, starting Friday. While examiners in the city and suburban Mumbai will be trained at the Fort campus, workshops will also be held at areas around the city for examiners based in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Wada and Jawahar. The training will be held by acting Vice Chancellor Devanand Shinde and acting director of examinations and evaluation Arjun Ghatule.

According to a master list prepared by the university, around 14,000 evaluators are eligible for assessment this time. All teachers will have to undergo the training, according to a circular issued Tuesday.

This is the first time teachers will be officially trained in using the software before they go in for assessment. In the summer semester exams, teachers had undergone a generic training on the process of tagging themselves and assessing answersheets online even before the agency was appointed.

A professor in the mass media department told The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity that the training was much-needed. “Last time around, teachers had rushed through the training and were not very conversant with the software. The training comes timely,” he said.

The training is a part of the reforms brought in by the Board of Examinations (BoE) following the delay in the results of students who took the summer semester examination this year. In a bid to avoid repeating the mistakes and eliminating technical glitches, the BoE has brought in a flurry of reforms. Apart from improving infrastructure for evaluation, the BoE has prepared a master database of assessors, courses, examinations, subjects and credits and the linkages have been streamlined.

The varsity will conduct exams for 481 full-time programmes and 604 part-time ones. Over 4.1 lakh students are expected to take the examinations in the November semester. Exams will commence Wednesday and the answersheets are set to reach assessment centres within three days. Scanning will begin by the sixth day, said Ghatule.