University of Mumbai paper eval lags, teachers fear repeat of mess

Even as the University of Mumbai kick-starts assessments for its winter semester examinations, assessments are yet to catch pace as most teachers are still busy with correcting papers of the internal and supervising exams at the college level.

The winter semester exams at the varsity began on November 8. This year, the scanning of answer sheets started immediately to avoid delays that had taken place the last time. The university also increased the number of Centralised Assessment Process (CAP) centres from 200 to 324 this time around to make it easier for teachers to reach the nearest centre.

However, despite all this, assessments are yet to begin in full swing. "Some of the ATKT exams which were delayed by the varsity are still on along with exams of regular students. Teachers are currently doing internal assessments and supervision thus have little time to visit their CAP centres for onscreen assessment," said a senior faculty member from a college in the eastern suburbs.

With the poor speed of assessment, there is fear that the whole process would be delayed yet again. "Due to the mess that was created last time around, the entire academic calendar has been affected this year. This has resulted in immense pressure on teachers as they are juggling multiple responsibilities," said a principal.

This time around, close to 9,000 teachers have been registered as eligible for assessments. Even as over 200 of the 481 exams are over, only close to a lakh answer sheets have been assessed so far.