It is an example for others to emulate, right from the selection of centres to logistics. It shows how fair, safe examinations can be held even in these testing times
Uttar Pradesh (UP) organises a Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for B.Ed. every year, where students compete for almost two lakh seats. Conducting it this year was a challenge in more ways than one. The State had received 4.31 lakh applications for the examination that was initially scheduled for April 8 but got postponed thrice in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and was finally held on August 9.
Last year, it was conducted in only 15 districts with 60 to 130 centres per district. This year there were the twin targets of least movement and ample social distancing. Hence it was decided to host the entrance test in all districts indicated by the candidates. The number of districts was increased to 50 and later to 73. To reduce the number of students congregating in one place, the strength of candidates allotted to a centre was halved, as compared to earlier years. Thus, the number of centres also increased proportionately. Special care was taken to ensure that women and divyang candidates were allotted the district of their choice, while other candidates were accommodated at or near their first place of preference.
In the past, B.Ed entrance tests were conducted by the nominated university with the help of other State universities while the Department of Higher Education played a negligible role. This year, the nominated university, Lucknow University, had sought the department’s help due to the special circumstances arising out of COVID-19. Ensuring compliance with the directive of the Chief Minister to ensure that there were no incidents of copying or other malpractices during the examination was the department’s biggest challenge. This required a marked departure from established practices and it was not easy to change the ways of the management accustomed to working in a particular fashion.
Formerly, 50-60 per cent of the centres were in private institutes and there was a suspicion of malpractices in some of them. To check the menace of cheating, it was decided that examination centres would be set up only in Government and Government-aided institutions. This turned out to be a daunting task. A screening committee was constituted in each district, comprising the district administration, the Secondary Education and Higher Education Departments and a coordinator from Lucknow University. Their task was to identify potential examination centres in the district, including State and Central universities, degree and intermediate colleges, engineering colleges, ITIs, polytechnics and even Government schools. Nevertheless, this was not sufficient. There was so much resistance to change that when requests and persuasions failed to yield results, the organising team ultimately had to be convinced by those at the highest level.
The Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Secretary held a special video conference with the District Magistrates and finally, after a meticulous exercise, success was achieved and 1,089 centres were identified.
The mammoth task of organising the centres, informing the students and mobilising the district administration was done through virtual meetings over the next month. Centres had to be changed because of new containment zones and floods in a few districts. Care was taken to ensure that the candidates did not bear the brunt of any of this and were kept updated through e-mails and SMS. Battling time constraints and infection risks, a programme for training invigilators and superintendents was designed. They were educated in the best practices for infection prevention as well as new anti-cheating measures. The optimum use of technology was witnessed at all levels during the crisis.
Ensuring the safety and health of candidates and staff was the highest priority and adequate monetary allocation was made for sanitisation of each centre — a minimum of Rs 4,000 plus an additional Rs 20 per candidate if the number surpassed 200 at any centre.
Face masks and sanitisers were provided free of cost. Thermal scanners were used and proper social distance was maintained in and outside the centres. Lucknow University adopted an innovative method for taking the thumb impressions of the students. Instead of the routine common ink pad, an individual disposable ink strip, specially made for the JEE, was given to each student for the purpose.
On the day of the examination, static magistrates and flying squads were deployed and an effective face-detection system was used. The technology uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to collect information of the candidate’s face from 27 points and matches him/her with the profile photo on 13 indicators including hair, ears, spectacles and so on. Each candidate’s biometric picture was taken on special phones with this app. Other mobile phones and communicating devices were not allowed inside the centre. CCTV cameras that had been specially-installed in each examination centre were continuously monitored through live webcasting at the university’s command centre, having 100 screens.
Before the examination was held, there were live debates in newsrooms and drawing rooms on whether this exam should be conducted at all. People argued that admissions to B.Ed could be made based on marks obtained in the final year of college itself and that this test could be done away with in view of the need for safety. However, the fact remains that this would be unfair to all stakeholders as final year exams are not standardised across universities.
Additionally, marking is often done on a bell curve based on the student pool of that university. Thus, the top few students from each university are expected to score higher, irrespective of how they compare with students across the State. Thus, a JEE was conceived years ago. Denying this opportunity to a student body that has already suffered academically due to the Corona crisis would have been remiss.
The option of holding the test online this year was given due consideration, but the digital divide across the State and access issues, especially for the vulnerable sections, weighed against it.
Since this is a prestigious course with fierce competition, it was essential to give a fair and uniform opportunity to all. The result will be declared on September 5 and the new session will commence in October-November. Conducting this exam was an experience worth sharing. It showcased the sensitivity and caution of the State Government and set the trend for holding competitive exams during the outbreak. It is an example for others to emulate, right from the selection of centres to logistics. It shows how fair, safe examinations can be held, even in these testing times.
(The writer is Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department, UP)
