Mumbai University: Final Year Exams to be held in MCQ format from October 1-17; Guidelines Released

Two weeks after deliberation on the order of the Supreme Court, the University of Mumbai(MU) finally issued broad guidelines for final year examinations in more than 750 affiliated colleges on Wednesday. Read the article below to know more about the guidelines.

Since the exams are decentralised, most of the responsibilities lie between the clusters of individual colleges and the leading colleges.

While the exams will be conducted online in an MCQ format, MU has asked colleges to collect data from students on the availability of smart devices and internet connectivity, as well as their current locations.

Students also have to declare in the form if they have any backlogs.

The examination schedule will be released by the lead colleges for their respective clusters, but the examinations will take place between October 01-17, 2020.

It also said that the Colleges will have to report the results in two days.

Also Read: Mumbai University Final-Year Exams 2020 to be Held Online, Practicals Start on 15 September​

If students do not have the facility to attend online exams from their homes, MU has asked colleges to seek help from local government officials.

In cases where online exams are not possible at all, colleges may conduct offline exams for such students.

Lead colleges have been asked to coordinate with others in the cluster. The university also clarified that students would not be able to seek re-evaluation in the exam, as the questions would be in the MCQ (multiple choice question) format, a move that was opposed by the student community.

Colleges have been asked to perform mock exams for students with sample MCQ questions in order to familiarise them with the new format.

Each college will have to set up a question bank with a number of MCQ sets for different subjects under the guidance of lead colleges and share them with students.

Only the programmes covered until March 13, 2020 should be included in the question papers for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Also Read: Mumbai University to Conduct Final Exams Home Based MCQ Format in October​

The question paper will bear 50 marks and the duration of the paper will be an hour, but the student scores must be converted into percentages out of the regular weighing of the question paper (for 60, 75, 80 or 100 marks).

As previously reported, a live-voce exam project for students from the science and technology faculty can be carried out using online platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, Skype or even a phone call.

Colleges have been asked to arrange for the technology to carry out the exams at their level. The university will not provide for any centralised system.

Siddharth Ingle, of the Maharashtra Student Association, said that all responsibility now rests with the colleges. "There is absolutely no clarity as to how the exams will be carried out, using eMail, Whatsapp, or any other software. What was the point of delaying these guidelines when the process was not simplified? Also, why are they insisting on MCQs? UGC offered other options such as home-based assignments. Why did the university not have multiple options?" he asked.

The association requested that final year examinations be held in the Supreme Court.

Also Read: Mumbai University Approves 36 Colleges for Academic Year 2021-2022, Check Details Here​