Nagpur University practical exams face questions over external examiner monitoring
Nagpur University's practical exam system faces scrutiny after external examiners' attendance and role went largely unmonitored, its vice chancellor said.
The entire system of college-level practical exams at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University has once again come under scrutiny. External examiners are appointed for the practical exams held in colleges ahead of the main exams, but serious questions are being raised about their actual role.
The problem is that even after external examiners are appointed, there is often no proper way to monitor whether they actually reached the college or took part in the exam process. There is no reliable oversight system in place for this.
According to information that has emerged at the university level, professors appointed as external examiners have, in several cases, left the entire responsibility for the practical exam to the college administration instead of going to the college themselves. The problem worsens when the appointment is in remote parts of Nagpur district, since reaching those areas and monitoring the exam both become difficult. In such cases, the university has no clear record of whether the examiner was actually present for the exam.
There is now a need for the university to rethink the entire system for the role, appointment and monitoring of external and internal examiners in practical exams. While it is felt that the presence of an external examiner is necessary to maintain the seriousness and fairness of the exam, appointment on paper alone is not enough.
It has also emerged that exams at Nagpur University are not being conducted with the seriousness they should be. There is also talk that marks are being given to students through coordination between external and internal examiners. It was pointed out that the seriousness of the entire system should not be questioned merely because of negligence in some cases.
The system needs to be made more effective when it comes to genuine monitoring of practical exams, examiners' attendance and transparency in the marks given to students.
Nagpur University vice chancellor Dr Manali Kshirsagar said this.
