Who will evaluate valuers
Valuation Mess-Up
By Vikas Vaidya
A boy studying in B.Sc II was surprised to see his marksheet where he was shown failed in Physics paper. He had asked for his answersheets of Physics papers, when he checked, he was shocked to see that the supplement was checked but original answersheet was kept unchecked. The student may go for revaluation, but then who would be the valuer! Would it be the same person who did it casually? In that case this student might get failed again. If suppose some other teacher would do the valuation but still what would be the guarantee that he would do his duty properly.
The question is who will evaluate valuer? If a student after studying sincerely appears in an examination, how he should feel assured that his or her answersheet would be check scrupulously with sincerity? This question has no answer. Not a single Vice-Chancellor throughout the Maharashtra, not a single expert, not a single academician. The question is as difficult as what is the parameter of teaching? The one who teaches with such a zeal and who gets engrossed in his or her teaching that students don’t want to miss the class. But still that doesn’t define the teaching parameters. Finally National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) has removed it from its list.
Issue of on-line valuation also came up but how one can rely on computer?
There is no system on how the valuation should be done. Secondly if the case of RTMNU is taken into consideration then it conducts over 700 examinations with 4 lakh students appearing. Why so much load is being carried? Why not allow colleges to take their own examinations for first two years and then university conducting final examination? RTMNU feels, colleges would not be able to conduct examination properly. What the heck! It is none of RTMNU’s business. It should take care of its own responsibility.
The valuation needs thought process which is missing in present system. At Board level for the examination of Class XII, there are specimen copies which describe how to solve the problem, how the evaluation would be done, how much mark would be allotted per step in the answer. At University level there is no such specimen copy is brought out. But the teachers are expected to do the valuation as per their judgement. Now who will decide whose judgement is right, is a million dollar question. For wrong valuation, university bosses do not take responsibility and they argue that how come they should be held accountable for the mistake committed in a corner by one of the valuers? The accountability is not fixed. According to one Pro-Vice Chancellor, the teacher’s approval of that insincere valuer should be revoked. But one V-C says that it was not fair, the valuer should be given an opportunity to learn a lesson. So he or she should be given one minor punishment like debarring from one or two examinations. According to one expert, debarring from one or two examinations would make that valuer made feel heave a sigh of relief only, means for him or her it might not be a punishment so how could the valuer learn a lesson?
Mumbai University Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajan Welukar is taking certain measures for the proper valuation. One of the measures is, he has asked result section certain statistics that involves, how many students have gone for revaluation, in revaluation how many marks are increased, what is the trend over the past five years.
The proper valuation can become proper if it is done on the basis of allowable error system. If there is a difference of more than 10 per cent in the actual answer then valuer can act ruthlessly.
In case of valuation in MUHS, the students had demanded of considering the highest marks given by any of the valuers. Who will decide that whose valuation is proper? The valuation of the valuer who has given highest marks or the one who has given less marks.
Former Dean of Education faculty Dr K M Bhandarkar in his speech in Senate once revealed one shocking fact which came to the fore through a research. In that study one and the same answer sheet valued by 500 different valuers. It was observed that the marks allotted by the different examiners for the same answer paper ranged from 28 to 92. If this example is taken into consideration then the judgement becomes difficult as to who has done proper valuation, the one who gave 92 or the one who allotted 28 marks?
There are cases where it was found that the marks have been manipulated. In fact the change in valuation brought by MUHS was because of the allegations like manipulations. This discussion can go on. The question of holding somebody accountable would remain unanswered. The university be it Nagpur or any other is still can not be called as student-centric. The sufferer is still student, who faces the music. The answer is severe punishment. In last regime, when Dr G S Parasher was Pro-V-C, several teachers were punished, they were brought on their kneels. But system has not changed permanently. The solution is still not sight, but it is high time that university should give a serious thought over it else even taking education would become difficult.
The question is who will evaluate valuer? If a student after studying sincerely appears in an examination, how he should feel assured that his or her answersheet would be check scrupulously with sincerity? This question has no answer. Not a single Vice-Chancellor throughout the Maharashtra, not a single expert, not a single academician. The question is as difficult as what is the parameter of teaching? The one who teaches with such a zeal and who gets engrossed in his or her teaching that students don’t want to miss the class. But still that doesn’t define the teaching parameters. Finally National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) has removed it from its list.
Issue of on-line valuation also came up but how one can rely on computer?
There is no system on how the valuation should be done. Secondly if the case of RTMNU is taken into consideration then it conducts over 700 examinations with 4 lakh students appearing. Why so much load is being carried? Why not allow colleges to take their own examinations for first two years and then university conducting final examination? RTMNU feels, colleges would not be able to conduct examination properly. What the heck! It is none of RTMNU’s business. It should take care of its own responsibility.
The valuation needs thought process which is missing in present system. At Board level for the examination of Class XII, there are specimen copies which describe how to solve the problem, how the evaluation would be done, how much mark would be allotted per step in the answer. At University level there is no such specimen copy is brought out. But the teachers are expected to do the valuation as per their judgement. Now who will decide whose judgement is right, is a million dollar question. For wrong valuation, university bosses do not take responsibility and they argue that how come they should be held accountable for the mistake committed in a corner by one of the valuers? The accountability is not fixed. According to one Pro-Vice Chancellor, the teacher’s approval of that insincere valuer should be revoked. But one V-C says that it was not fair, the valuer should be given an opportunity to learn a lesson. So he or she should be given one minor punishment like debarring from one or two examinations. According to one expert, debarring from one or two examinations would make that valuer made feel heave a sigh of relief only, means for him or her it might not be a punishment so how could the valuer learn a lesson?
Mumbai University Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajan Welukar is taking certain measures for the proper valuation. One of the measures is, he has asked result section certain statistics that involves, how many students have gone for revaluation, in revaluation how many marks are increased, what is the trend over the past five years.
The proper valuation can become proper if it is done on the basis of allowable error system. If there is a difference of more than 10 per cent in the actual answer then valuer can act ruthlessly.
In case of valuation in MUHS, the students had demanded of considering the highest marks given by any of the valuers. Who will decide that whose valuation is proper? The valuation of the valuer who has given highest marks or the one who has given less marks.
Former Dean of Education faculty Dr K M Bhandarkar in his speech in Senate once revealed one shocking fact which came to the fore through a research. In that study one and the same answer sheet valued by 500 different valuers. It was observed that the marks allotted by the different examiners for the same answer paper ranged from 28 to 92. If this example is taken into consideration then the judgement becomes difficult as to who has done proper valuation, the one who gave 92 or the one who allotted 28 marks?
There are cases where it was found that the marks have been manipulated. In fact the change in valuation brought by MUHS was because of the allegations like manipulations. This discussion can go on. The question of holding somebody accountable would remain unanswered. The university be it Nagpur or any other is still can not be called as student-centric. The sufferer is still student, who faces the music. The answer is severe punishment. In last regime, when Dr G S Parasher was Pro-V-C, several teachers were punished, they were brought on their kneels. But system has not changed permanently. The solution is still not sight, but it is high time that university should give a serious thought over it else even taking education would become difficult.
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