Sambalpur University to hold UG exams in blended mode

SAMBALPUR: The Sambalpur University has decided to conduct the under graduate (UG) final semester examinations of all its affiliated colleges in a blended model allowing students to choose between online and offline mode.

Earlier this month, following the directives of the Higher Education Department, the university authorities had announced to conduct the UG examination through offline mode taking necessary precautions against Covid-19 after the Supreme Court ruled that final year students cannot be promoted without appearing the tests.

However, the decision drew flak from various groups of students who considered it to be an unsafe option during the pandemic and demanded for online examinations. Besides, since students of many affiliated colleges belonged to remote areas, it was not possible for all of them to appear the examinations online. 

An official said, “There are 230 affiliated colleges under the university. It will be difficult for many colleges to conduct online examinations. This apart, there are many poor students without the resources required for an online examination and hence, it was not a feasible option to be applied for all colleges.”

Considering the opinion of students, the university authorities held a meeting with principals of all the affiliated colleges. Sources said authorities of almost half of the colleges voted in favour of offline mode of examinations and the rest preferred the online tests. Subsequently, as per the guidelines of UGC, the university decided to conduct the examination through blended mode. 

Comptroller of Examination, Sambalpur University Rabindra Panigrahi said, “We have approved the modalities for conducting the examination in blended mode and the colleges have been informed accordingly. The colleges will collect the preferences of students prior to the examination. While utmost precautions for Covid-19 will be taken during offline examinations, the colleges have been asked to develop their own module for the online tests and check with students beforehand to ensure that it is user friendly.” 

The question paper, duration of examination and evaluation pattern will be the same for both online and offline examinations, he added.  

Around 40,000 students from across 230 colleges will appear the UG final semester examinations in blended mode. However, the PG examinations of the university will be conducted through online mode only. Both the examinations will start from September 22.