Higher Education Dept mulls action against teachers for delay in paper checking

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, February 19

The Higher Education Department is contemplating action against university and college teachers for delay in evaluation of answersheets.

Jyoti Arora, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, told The Tribune that delay in result declaration was a key challenge to be addressed on top priority by universities.

She said a committee comprising Controllers of Examination and Deans of Academic Affairs of six universities, including Kurukshetra University, MDU, Rohtak, and CDLU, Sirsa, had been tasked to submit suggestions on how new technology could be used for examination reforms and transparency.

She was here today for a meeting on examination reforms with Vice-Chancellors, Registrars, Deans and other senior officials of 11 state universities.

Arora said in several cases, the delay in result declaration was attributed to late submission of answer booklets by teachers.

“Paper checking is also a part of the academic activity of a teacher. The department is considering fixing a deadline for evaluation of answer booklets. A teacher may be made accountable if he delays in performing the assignment,” she said.

Arora said the universities had been asked to reduce the examination time from 45 days to 22 and thus adding more teaching days in each semester.

Also, the universities would ensure digitisation of various activities from the next year, she added. Arora said the schedule for the beginning of each semester, date of examination and result declaration for higher education institutes would also be implemented uniformly.

She said the university administrations had been asked to start online examination redressal templates to facilitate students.

“Students face difficulty due to unprecedented delay in result declaration, but existing mechanism does not offer any transparent platform to address the problem. Now, the universities have been directed to establish a template exclusively for the complaints related to results. It will ensure prompt reaction by the university concerned and the Higher Education Department simultaneously,” she said.