“There have not been any complaints so far from the students who appeared for the exams on day one,” said a senior official from the directorate. 

The Higher Education Department gave approval to conduct the examination, which was originally scheduled to be held last October, for first and third semester regular students studying in the polytechnic colleges through online mode from February 8 to February 13. There are more than 100 diploma courses, including automobile and electronics, offered by these colleges. 

According to the official, it is the responsibility of the respective colleges to ensure that all their students have access to computer with an internet connection so that they would be able to appear for online exams from their respective places. When exams were conducted online for the first time, there were some technical glitches while downloading the question papers and other exam related details. 

“However, this time, the authorities have ensured that there were no such technical issues that the students had to face while appearing for the online exams. Downloading question papers and uploading answer sheets were easy, as the file size have been reduced to make sure that students will not face such problems,” the official said. 

In the ongoing examinations that would go on till February 13, the question papers would vary while downloading so as to prevent malpractices like copying, he added. 

In another measure to help the students who are attending online exams for the first time, the authorities have decided to allow those who face genuine impediments like disruption in internet connection and network failure while downloading question paper or uploading answer sheets.