Examination in the Times of Corona

In our country, examinations have come to occupy a somewhat divine space in the public imagination. So much so that, young kids are raised with a determined focus of cracking one examination or the other. Not that assessments of some sort were not there in the traditional systems. But, the importance that mass-based standardized examinations are given in the modern education system is unprecedented.

Conducting examinations has become one of the core activities of the modern education system. In their normal functioning, schools and colleges conduct many examinations. Also, with the push towards a semester system which emphasize continuous mode of assessment, the frequency of examination has increased many-fold. Some argue that this system is best suited for learning as it comes with continuous feedback throughout the course of a semester. While, there are others who believe that too much of stress on examination is counterproductive, as true learning happens when the mind is free from any undue pressure associated with examinations.

We may not be interested in a detailed comparison of these traditions of thoughts. But, the peculiar, unprecedented, and uncertain situation which has arisen in the wake of a pandemic has forced all the temples of modern education to rethink and plan their teaching and assessment activities.

If we focus only on the higher educational institutes and examinations, there are many leading institutions in this country and the world which have promoted their students without conducting the due exams for the current semester. One would like to believe that the underlying feeling and thought behind this decision was that their students do not feel further pressurized in these times. At the same time, there are institutions who want their students to forget about their material and psychological conditions and to worry about the due date of the last assignment and the coming exams in online mode.

But what exactly are these conditions of our times?

Some of the conditions may be common like fear and anxiety of getting the disease, unequal access to the required devices, electricity supply and internet connectivity. Whereas, there could be situations that are peculiar to the social location which could be geographic as well as socio-economic.

Think about a student from the hilly terrain having poor connectivity, whose family income has gone down the drain as the roadside Dhaba which his family manages is closed for the past two months; Similarly, there could be a student, whose house got damaged during the recent floods/cyclone and is living without electricity for many days in a makeshift camp; Or another, who is struggling because she is living in a region which is under lock-down for past one year. Near her village, an encounter between the security forces and the insurgents has just ended; Or try to imagine the one, who is struggling to focus on online instructions in a small house with many family members, some of whom require constant care.

To these cases, if one adds the students having disabilities of different kinds, who suffer because they lack support even in normal circumstances, then one is compelled to ask;

Do these students need examinations in these times? Do these institutions have resources to conduct online examinations while providing a level playing field to their students?

The answers to both these questions are a clear No.

Even the UGC guidelines on examination for the universities in view of Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, April 2020, suggest

“Like the modes of teaching-learning, most of the universities follow the physical mode of examinations, with a few exceptions. On this aspect also, some of the universities lack adequate IT infrastructure for conducting online examinations. The hiring of private agencies for conducting online examinations also does not seem feasible... Therefore, keeping in view the basic infrastructure available at the level of the institutions and accessibility of the internet to the students, especially in remote areas, it is not feasible to uniformly adopt the online mode of examination at this juncture.”

As per the official data on the key indicators of household social consumption on education in India, National Statistical Office, in their 75th survey, conducted between July 2017 to June 2018, has reported that only 10.7% of the Indian households have computers and 23.8% have the facility of internet connection. These are overall figures with a large urban-rural divide and difference among various states. For a state like Assam, these numbers are 7.5% (rural 3.7%, urban 30.8%) and 17.0% (rural 12.1%, urban 46.9%), respectively.

In my opinion, these are the reasons why conducting examinations should not be a priority of any academic institution in these times. Many leading institutions who are concerned about the quality and academic integrity of any such process have rightly done so.

The decision of not conducting the due examinations have given their students immediate relief. And, have given these institutions an opportunity and time to think beyond the box. Not that it will necessarily lead to a system that is just, humane and equitable in the long run.

At this juncture, one may ask what should the publicly funded institutions, where the students come from diverse social backgrounds, do?

In my humble opinion, this crisis has given the public institutions an opportunity to focus on their role which they are supposed to play in society. These times have given us, the teachers, a unique opportunity to know our students in much better and humane ways, which can get reflected in the ways we adapt for teaching-learning and assessment in future.

For the time being, these institutions should tell their students, not to worry about their exams/marks/grades, take care of themselves, their families and friends in these difficult times, and think about the future and the possibilities it holds.

Let us not hold these young minds from imagining a world which is more just, humane and equitable. One way to make them care for these values is to show that WE care for them.

An edited version of this piece was published in The Assam Tribune (June 18, 2020)