Reform panel offers 16-point recommendations to prevent anomalies, improve storage, evaluation & monitoring
BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Aug 22: The High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary examitions in Assam are likely to witness a major reform with the State Education department mulling over introducing an online examition system.
A committee constituted by the State Education department recently suggested to the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) and Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) that online examition be introduced to prevent anomalies in conducting the HSLC, High Madrassa and the Higher Secondary examitions. The online examition system can be introduced in a phased manner as has been done by other exam conducting agencies, the committee suggested.
The committee was formed following leakage of question papers, damage to answer sheets and several other technical glitches. It has put forward several suggestions ranging from preparation of question papers, printing, storage of answer sheets, evaluation and declaration of results.
The committee also suggested to the SEBA and AHSEC to involve retired teachers for evaluation of answer scripts while keeping the services of working teachers to the minimum.
SEBA and AHSEC will explore a mechanism of preparing exhaustive question bank containing 10,000 questions, besides setting of two sets of question papers, further suggested the committee.
The committee also recommended to the SEBA and the AHSEC to work out a mechanism for funding construction of protected strong rooms in schools and colleges declared as evaluation zones for safe storage of answer scripts. As per its recommendations, the strong rooms will have only a single operating door for opening and should have double lock of good quality. If there are other doors, these will have to be sealed when the answer scripts are in store.
Each evaluation zone should have a proper flood and fire protected strong room to store answer scripts. All ventilators and windows of the strong room should be properly sealed, the electric connection of the room be thoroughly checked and a separate circuit has to be created in the room, the committee also stated.
The CCTV monitoring should be switched on during sorting of question papers in the examition centre, further suggested the committee. It also recommended that the vehicles used for handling question papers should have proper GPS system to eble strict online monitoring of the movement of vehicles.
As per other recommendations, the committee stated that mobile phones and other electronic devices should not be allowed to be carried inside the sorting area and examition halls, neither by teachers nor by students.
The committee also sought public recommendations before filizing the entire system.
The committee was constituted in March this year in order to offer suggestions for evolving standard operating procedure for conducting HSLC, High Madrassa and Higher Secondary examition. It submitted its 16-point recommendations in May. Some more recommendations were later added during its meeting in June for strengthening the conduct of examitions.