Open Book Test not a Feasible Method of Assessment, DU Professors State Concern

Delhi University argued that, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, it opted for an open book review mode as a one-time measure.

As the online open book reviews of Delhi University began on Monday, the teachers expressed doubts about their long-term feasibility and also indicated a lack of guidance on the assessment of students in the most recent exam mode.

Varsity argued that, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, it opted for an open book review mode as a one-time measure.

Arun Attri, a professor at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, said the new exam mode ended the uncertainty for more than 2 lakh students who now know that since they took the exams, they will get their results and can apply for a master's degree.

He said, however, that the open book exam is not a viable option in the long run for the variety known for its trade and humanities courses.

"Such exams may be feasible for engineering and science students, but they will not serve the purpose of business and humanities courses. They are more like assignments than exams," Attri said.

The professor, asking for anonymity, said that this kind of examination also raises concerns about cheating and the use of fraudulent means by students.

He said teachers learned about students sharing answers on social messaging platforms like WhatsApp.

"There is no way to check these instances. Answers to a lot of questions are easily available on the internet and students will just copy them. How do we know if a student has actually understood what he has written? It is disadvantageous for those who are actually working hard and preparing for the exams," added the professor.

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"Students are in touch with each other through WhatsApp. Even students who may not be willing to share answers are forced to do so in the name of friendship. There's no way we can check it out or keep a tab on it. If I get the same answer in 10 answer sheets, how am I supposed to evaluate them?" said another professor.

Delhi University Teachers' Association Treasurer Abha Dev Habib said that all students have the same study material.

"Previously, students would visit libraries and take additional notes, but because of the pandemic that wasn't possible. I've sent the same notes to every student and they're going to rely on similar material," she said.

Abha, who teaches at Miranda House, said the teachers are waiting for clarity on how to evaluate the answer sheets.

"We don't know if we're going to send the answer sheets or log in to the portal. We don't know which software we 're going to use to evaluate the response sheets. We haven't received any training on this," she said.

Pankaj Garg, a former member of the Academic Council and professor at Rajdhani College, agreed with Abha and said that the teachers would face difficulties in evaluating the examinations.

"There is a fair possibility that pages would be swapped while scanning and uploading, which would disturb the sequence ... teachers will have to be very careful when connecting all the pages that are part of the same question," he said.

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Some pages may be blurred while scanning, and it would be difficult to read them carefully. It would be equally difficult to connect to the next page, and therefore the continuity of the answer would be lost, Garg said.

The most challenging point for teachers would be page marking, it seems that the evaluation would take a lot longer, he added.

Sharing the experience of an open book exam, a Kashmiri student at Dyal Singh College said, "I didn't feel like I was doing an exam because I had access to the study material. I don't feel anything like a pen or a paper exam because, in those settings, we actually get to test our knowledge."

Another student said that such an exam mode is "not credible" and that teachers have no means of checking whether the students are writing the answers or someone else in their place.

"The students are also not very serious about these exams because they have access to books. They also fail to prepare thoroughly," the student added.