Teachers want Mumbai University to go back to physical exam evaluation model

Citing administrative failures and errors in evaluating exam answer sheets University of Mumbai MU teachers are demanding a return to offline evaluations Despite the shift to online assessment the number of students applying for reevaluation remains consistently high showing no signs of decline even in the 202425 academic year The high percentage of students passing after a reevaluation has raised serious concerns about the accuracy of the initial assessment Faculty members argue that the current system lacks overseeing leading to unchecked errorsReverting to offline evaluation would mean returning to the pre2017 system where teachers physically checked answer sheets before sending them for moderation Teachers believe this method ensured better accountability and accuracy However some faculty members argue that full moderation is needed even if online evaluation continuesExam dept under scrutinyMUrsquos Examination and Evaluation Departmentmdashcommonly called the Examination Housemdashis facing renewed criticism for repeated errors In a recent senate meeting professors flagged the growing number of complaints forcing the university to acknowledge the issue15K students seek reevaluationAfter the winter 2024 semester results around 15000 students applied for reevaluation with 11000 cases resulting in revised scores The alarming correction rate has intensified calls for an overhaul of the examination systemOne student who failed the Indian Citizen Security Code subject with 21 marks later discovered that responses worth 30 marks had not even been checked Frustrated he filed an official complaint In another case a Masterrsquos in Management student found her online result marked as lsquofailedrsquo despite never receiving a marksheet After reevaluation she was declared lsquopassedrsquo but was asked to submit her original mark sheetmdashwhich she never receivedmdashto get the revised oneAfter the winter 2024 semester results 15000 students applied for reevaluation with 11000 cases resulting in revised scores Representation picistockDuring the summer 2024 semester 17467 students applied for reevaluation with 8960 receiving revised marksmdashan error correction rate of 51 per cent Some courses saw even higher discrepancies In the threeyear LLB programmersquos sixth semester 243 students applied and 219 saw their marks revised In the thirdyear Arts coursersquos fifth semester 1590 students applied and 1311 got modified scores For the winter semester the number of applications dropped slightly but the percentage of revised scores shot up to 73 per centStudents bear financial burdenMU charges Rs 150 to Rs 350 per paper for reevaluation placing an additional financial burden on students In 202223 alone the university collected Rs 455 lakh in reevaluation fees and Rs 43060 for photocopies of answer sheetsProfessor Vijay Pawar president of the Maharashtra Union of Secular Teachers MUST highlighted that only 1520 per cent of papers are randomly moderated leaving many unchecked ldquoWe often see students initially getting 1020 marks but after reevaluation their scores jump to 4050 This raises serious concerns about accuracyrdquo Pawar said pushing for a return to offline evaluationsRTI exposes evaluation flawsA 2024 RTI reply revealed that more than half of the students who applied for reevaluation in early 2023 passed after reassessment In late 2022 45 per cent of students who sought revaluation had their results changed Punebased activist Vihar Durve who obtained the data slammed MU for failing to provide facultywise transparency ldquoThe university must ensure errorfree assessments Students shouldnrsquot have to fight for accurate marksrdquo said MU senate member Pradeep SawantThe ordealEvery year thousands of students who receive low marks or fail their exams request photocopies of their answer sheets to verify their grading before applying for revaluation Many who initially fail ultimately pass after reassessment exposing flaws in the initial evaluation A law student shared ldquoFailing an exam causes immense distress We then have to request a photocopy apply for revaluation and wait Itrsquos not just about the fees but also the stress and wasted timerdquoAnother student pointed out that revalued marks are often not considered for university rankings or awards ldquoMy aunt lost out on a top rank years ago due to a low initial score After revaluation she topped but the university never updated the topper list Who takes responsibility for such mistakesrdquoldquoThe numbers expose Mumbai Universityrsquos deeply flawed assessment systemrdquo said Sawant ldquoThe process of obtaining photocopies verifying errors and applying for revaluation is timeconsuming and unfair to students The university must ensure accurate evaluationsrdquoActivist Vihar Durve stressed the need for accountability ldquoRepeated errors have jeopardised studentsrsquo futures A proper evaluation must be guaranteed affected students should be compensated and a CAG performance audit should be made mandatoryrdquoUniversityrsquos justificationDefending the process university officials stated that each paper undergoes two rounds of assessment by different teachers leading to occasional score variations They assured that corrections identified during revaluation are implemented to ensure fairnessEvaluation processPre2017 Systemgtgt Teachers received physical answer sheets for evaluationgtgt Papers were checked and returned to the universitygtgt A moderator reviewed the assessments for accuracyPost2017 Systemgtgt Answer sheets are scanned and uploaded for online evaluationgtgt Teachers log in using credentials provided by the universitygtgt The online system allows marking annotation and submissionOnline assessment update statusgtgt Faculty access the system using their mobile number and email IDgtgt Authentication is done via a onetime password OTPgtgt Evaluators must annotate all answers before submissiongtgt A green tick indicates completion allowing final submission