Home is where the exam is

When twins Purav and Pratik Kothari were studying for their exams a few years back, they realised that coaching classes could seldom keep pace with the speed at which topics were covered. "Some portions were so vast that students and teachers couldn't focus on regular tests," says Purav.

And so ProfessorBuddy (.com) a Mumbai-based online exam portal was born in August last year. The website helps students of Chartered Accountant Common Proficiency Test (CA CPT) and Company Secretary (CS) prepare for their professional tests from the convenience of their own homes.

Twenty-five year-olds Purav and Pratik Kothari, founders of ProfessorBuddy (.com). Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

ProfessorBuddy has partnered with various coaching institutes across the city. The website's services currently deal with CS Foundation Course and CA CPT.

Professors don't have to bother with setting regular tests since the website offers a readymade test series. All the student has to do is log on to the website and attempt the Multiple Choice Questions test (MCQ). There are individual chapter tests as well as full tests that quiz the student on the entire portion. "Since the whole process is online, the student doesn't waste time travelling to a coaching centre," explains Purav.

Another advantage of the system is that the student gets his results as soon as he completes the test. "Since the scores software is pre-loaded, the correct answers are provided instantly for all the questions they skipped or got wrong," assures Purav. "They also get our analysis of their performance with graphs representing how they scored and what subject area they were weak in so they can concentrate on that the next time they study. They can also compare their scores with the rest of the class."

Seventeen-year-old Keyur Jain, who has been using ProfessorBuddy since a month, appreciates its student-friendly interface. "It's accessible to students who don't have the time to go to classes," he adds. Jain is a student of CA CPT from Andheri (e).

Students don't have to join coaching classes to use ProfessorBuddy, or be from the city. One can go online and buy the package. The website even offers a free trial for a chapter test. If a student signed up with the programme fails in his first attempt, he or she then gets an extension and can continue using ProfessorBuddy until the next exam.

The professors and experts who are on board have a backend login where they can check which tests a student has attempted and how they have fared.

Purav says they are considering Apps for Android, Blackberry and iPads."Students can then appear for small chapter tests while travelling," explains Purav.

They also plan to launch services in Ahmedabad and Rajasthan. "We're looking at diversifying into engineering and management subjects as well as HSC, SSC and CBSE," says Purav of future plans. "With the school subjects, we'll focus on the objective part of the exams as that area has most scoring potential." u00a0