Calcutta University will screen students from other universities for admission to its postgraduate programmes through a computer-based test (CBT), replacing the pen-and-paper OMR screening, to make the selection process more transparent.

At CU, 20 per cent of all postgraduate seats are set aside for candidates from other universities and the aspirants are required to appear in admission tests.

Students of the home university (CU) are admitted based on their undergraduate marks.

Under the new mechanism, postgraduate aspirants from other universities will have to write their tests at TCS-Gitabitan from October 24 to 26. The tests will be conducted under CCTV surveillance.

The dean of the technology and science faculty at CU, Amit Roy, said they decided to introduce the CBT following complaints of irregularities in the OMR-based recruitment tests conducted by the school service commission (SSC).

He said allegations that OMR sheets had been tampered with had led to legal cases, which rocked the recruitment process.

“We want to keep our selection process controversy-free. So we have decided to do away with OMR-based tests. Students will go to a centre and write the test. Questions will appear on the computer screen and the candidates have to select the right option. The entire process will be recorded,” Roy said.

Also, once the CBT is introduced, there will be no need to print question papers. “We can eliminate chances of a leak if we can do away with the practice of printing question papers at a press and transporting them to the exam venues,” a CU official said.

“In the new system, the questions will be uploaded on the day of the test through software,” the official said.

The dean said they had entered into an agreement with a tech company to conduct the test for the next three years.

“We wanted to develop a robust system which could not be tampered with. Besides, if the tests are OMR-based, we would have to preserve the hard copies of the OMR sheets. In a computer-based test, the entire process will be digitally recorded and the digital data can be produced if there is any complaint,” the dean said.

The SSC has accepted the education department’s advice to preserve OMR sheets for 10 years.

Postgraduate classes in CU for home students started on October 3, in keeping with the deadline set by the higher education department.

Classes for students from other universities have not started as the admission tests are yet to be held.

“We took time to decide on the mode of the test. Classes for students from other universities will start in November. The teachers should conduct additional classes so the students who will enrol late can catch up with those whose classes have already started,” a CU official said.