COIMBATORE: Former Vice Chancellor of Anna University E Balagurusamy has urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to announce a protocol for conducting proctored online examinations and implement it in all higher education institutions across the country. Referring to the State government’s move to cancel arrear examinations, he said the protocol would safeguard higher education institutions from the “onslaught of unscrupulous politicians.”
In his letter to UGC chairman DP Singh, Balagurusamy said that regulatory authorities like the UGC and the AICTE should lay down an appropriate protocol for conducting proctored online examinations so that the quality and sanctity of the evaluation processes were not compromised.
The former V-C dubbed the online exams, currently being conducted by all universities in Tamil Nadu, as “home assignments” as they were not proctored, had no control over time, and do not check the use of internet search, exchange of answers and even impersonation.
“Such exams will not only lower the academic standard of the universities but also badly impair their reputation and credibility among the stakeholders. Moreover, this will seriously affect the career prospects of the good and bright students. Even the reputation of UGC will be at stake,” he opined.
In the absence of clear-cut guidelines, Balagurusamy said the state universities were likely to “buckle under the pressure of political bosses and act according to their whims and fancies, thus making a mockery of examination systems.”