The BTech students of the IIEST will get 45 minutes to write their mid-semester papers and 15 minutes to upload the scanned copies of their answer scripts, failing which the scripts will not be evaluated, an official of the Shibpur institute said.
The examinations of the third, fifth and seventh semesters will be held from December 21 to 28 on a digital platform. IIEST has decided against on-campus tests for now because students and teachers are wary of visiting the institute amid the Covid pandemic.
A notice signed by deputy registrar (academic) Nirmallya Bhattacharya says: “The duration of each examination shall be 45 minutes excluding a maximum time of 15 minutes for uploading a scanned copy of the answer script. After examination, the student shall upload the scanned copy of the answer scripts in Google Classroom, for that maximum 15 minutes shall be allowed. Any answer script submitted late shall not be evaluated”.
The examinees will be sent questions over Google Classroom a couple of minutes before the start of the test.
The institute had considered on-campus tests to ensure transparency. But as students and teachers wanted to avoid assembly as a precaution against Covid-19, the institute dropped the idea.
IIEST director Parthasarathi Chakrabarti said that although some NITs were assessing students in semester exams by giving home assignments, they settled for a time-bound test. While writing the papers, the students will have to switch on their webcams or mobile cameras. “Since we cannot hold on-campus tests, we are trying to hold the exams in a time-bound manner to ensure transparency. The questions are being set in a manner that if a student has not studied the chapter in detail, he or she won’t be able to write in 45 minutes. Searching the answers on the internet or taking help of a book won’t help,” said Chakrabarti.
According to him, if assignments are sent home, it is difficult to assess whether the student has taken someone else’s help to complete it.
The institute will hold its convocation on January 30 in virtual mode as it does not want to risk any physical assembly amid the pandemic.
