COVID-19 pandemic: IIM-Sambalpur to hold online examination for first-year MBA students

The Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIM-S) has decided to conduct the end term examinations of the first-year MBA students using the online proctoring system in view of the lockdown imposed to prevent Coronavirus spread.

IIM-S will be the first IIM in the country to conduct the examination using the online proctoring system, a senior institute official said. Director of IIM-S, Mahadeo Jaiswal said the end term exams of the first year students was to be held in the fourth week of March this year, but the students had to vacate the hostel due to the lockdown at that time.

"As a result, the examination could not be held. Moreover, we are also not sure when the lockdown will end and normalcy will be restored. And under the circumstances, we have decided to conduct the end term examination of the first year students using the Online Proctoring System in June, Jaiswal said.

With this system, the students can appear for the tests by logging in through their laptop/desktop at their homes in different parts of the country. About 100 students will be appearing for the end term exam. This system of conducting tests online allows more transparency in the process, he said.

Moreover, with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is no scope of human error in invigilation during the exam. There is no wastage of paper and handwriting will also not be an issue for the students. The process of examination is also cost-effective.

Around Rs 2.5 lakh will be spent on conducting the exam through this system, the Director said. He said the third-party online proctoring portal will serve only as a platform for the students to appear in the examination. The questions will be set by the faculty of IIM Sambalpur and the answer scripts will be scrutinised by them as well.

With this system, each student will be monitored and invigilated during the examination through an AI tool to ensure they do not receive any external help for writing their answers. The interface will also capture the retina movement of the prospective candidates. The exam disrupts even if an examinee attends a phone call, he added.

Jaiswal further said that the institute is also planning to conduct all its examinations online henceforth even after the situation, caused by the lockdown in the wake of COVID pandemic, turns normal.