University of Madras students to write final semester exams at home with open books – EdexLive

Chennai News

University of Madras students can write their April 2020 final semester exams from the comfort of their homes, even keeping their books and reading material open on the side. The varsity has scheduled the exams from September 21.

While students have been asked to download the question papers and upload the answer scripts online, those who do not have the required technology shall be allowed to send the answer scripts via
post.

“Many colleges have taken to conducting open book exams, periodic assignments and objective-type tests. We decided to use this method,” S Gowri, the Vice-Chancellor of the varsity, told The New Indian Express.

When asked about the possibility of malpractice, he said, “We are in the middle of a pandemic. Many colleges are used as quarantine centres. Students do not have stable internet connections for real-time online tests. This is the best option we have.”

Students will be able to take a mock test on September 18 and 19, to familiarise themselves with the examination pattern.

Downloading question paper

Students can download their hall tickets from
https://egovernance.unom.ac.in/onlinereg/login_hall.asp and also check the instructions regarding the conduct of exams on the same link. The exam has been scheduled for 1.5 hours.

The university shall soon send a url to students via SMS or WhatsApp on which the exam question papers will be available from 9:30 -11:30 am for the forenoon session and 1:30-3:00 pm on their respective exam dates. The exam duration shall start from 10:00 am for the forenoon session and 2:00 pm for the afternoon session.

After entering relevant personal information for authentication, students will be able to download it. They will also receive an SMS that tells them that their question paper has been downloaded.

Then students should send the message to the Nodal officer though the WhatsApp or SMS as “DOWNLOADED”. This will be a  confirmation from the students that he/she is attending the examination.

Exam instructions

Students must write the examination in blue or black pen and cannot type answer papers or copy and paste the textbook images in their answer scripts. Students can only use A4 paper and restrict it to a maximum of 18 sheets. Students must write their register number, subject code, page number and signature in the top of the answer script in each and every page.

After completion of the examination, all pages should be scanned and uploaded in ascending order. Once the student uploads the answer scripts on the university website, it cannot be changed or viewed again. Students should upload the answer scripts within three hours after completion of the examination.

After uploading students should send a message to the nodal officer as “UPLOADED”. This will be a confirmation of uploading the answer script.

Only students who have network issues will be allowed to upload it more than once. Students who do not have the technology to scan and upload the answer script can send it through post, after informing the nodal officer. The post however should reach the university by 3 pm the following day.

If the students do not have facilities for downloading the question paper and uploading the answer script, they should send a request to their respective college principal or chief superintendent or nodal officer for making necessary arrangements within their college.

Source: https://www.edexlive.com/news/2020/sep/15/university-of-madras-students-to-write-final-semester-exams-at-home-with-open-books-14626.html