Osmania University has switched to online evaluation of answer scripts of post graduate examinations. The varsity has put in place the process for online evaluation of 80,000 answer scripts of the MBA second semester examination to start with. The new process was introduced after a fire in a storeroom which destroyed hundreds of answer scripts.Coded and scanned answer scripts will be put up online and access will be given to the designated evaluation centres that will come up within the university campus.
The university has tied up with an external firm to barcode and scan the answer scripts which will be uploaded on the dedicated server at the data centre located in the Central Facilities for Research and Development. Using a special ID, password and OTP, evaluators can access the 32-page answer scripts, evaluate them and award marks. The marks will be totalled automatically by the system and sent to the main server. Each evaluator would get between 30 and 60 answer scripts in phases daily.
OU vice-chancellor Prof. S. Ramachand ram said, "Online evaluation would be extended to all undergraduate and post-graduate courses. The administration is of the view that online evaluation would help the university announce results faster, without errors, and curb malpractices." He said the new sys-tem would help the varsity retrieve information quickly, unlike in the traditional evaluation system. Prot Kumar M., controller of examinations, OU, said. "In the manual evaluation system, every answer script had to be coded by professionals who are few in number. It was time consuming. OU will be the first in the state to introduce the online evaluation system."