Manipal Institute of Technology students have reservations over online exams

Mangaluru: Students of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) have taken the internet by storm, after the college decided to conduct exams online in the first week of June. Many students from across India have tweeted by tagging along the UGC, PMO and the HRD ministry on the issue.
In an online petition filed on Change.Org, the students have stated there are many who have left their laptops and notes in the college and returned home, expecting that the college would resume after a week.
Many students said, “There are students who are stuck in areas with a bad network as well as in red zones, who will not be able to prepare for these exams, let alone take them online. Due to the lockdown, all the computer repair centres are shut, hence the students who are facing difficulties with their laptops will not be able to learn or take online exams. In many colleges, including Mumbai University, the end-semester exams have been cancelled, and grades are being assigned based on past performance and internals,” they said, urging the college administration to look into this matter and come up with alternatives that suit them better.
A few students even shared a screenshot of a lecturer asking students to borrow a laptop from neighbours or a shop. Students from West Bengal, who have been affected by cyclone Amphan, claimed that they faced internet issues. In addition, many families are going through a crisis, because their parents have lost their jobs due to the recent layoffs, they said.
On the contrary, a section of students claimed that the college has done its best to ensure that the students take exams. A second- year student alleged that a few of the screenshots being shared are fabricated, and that teachers and students are randomly testing the software efficiency. The college has been conducting online assignments and the attendance is fairly good. Most of the lecturers have uploaded 90 % of the notes in PDF format on time.
D Srikanth Rao, director, MIT, said, “The examination is very close to what they were doing offline. They need internet connection only to download the question paper and to upload the answers. They can download the question paper much ahead of the start of the exam. At the time of starting the exam, they will receive an OTP through which they can open the question paper. They can either type the answers or write the answers on a paper and digitise it. Equation editor, scientific calculator, formula sheets and data handbook are in an application on their laptop. At the end of the specified time, the application will close the process. As and when the student connects the device to the internet, the answer paper will be uploaded to the server. Thus, the whole process is almost offline.”