How Can Paper Leaks Be Prevented in an Online Entrance Exam mode?
What do students do when the exam papers itself are leaking? A very intense sense of frustration and anger affects us. But nothing can be done about it on the personal level. Why nobody from the concerned authority talks about it openly? This is the time when the incidents like theses have become so frequent that we have become used to it. I hardly get surprised now when I get to hear a news like this. So, time has come that Govt must take necessary steps to tackle with this. Here are my views:
For offline tests, a vast number of individuals are involved in the existing system of getting question papers to examination centres. From those in the printing press to those in logistics, officials in treasury offices, and centres where the papers are held. Every stage of the procedure increases the chance of a paper leak.
In my view all of these processes can be avoided with an online or computer-based test. I’ve read that these tests are always saved on secure servers that are only accessible at the specified examination time.
It’s not just about security and avoiding paper leaks; online examinations also process results faster. They also provide error-free output with minimal human intervention.
One counter-argument is: what if the server is hacked? The paper may still be available before the exam. In such situation, can’t we enlist the assistance of our great IT experts to make the system extremely secure?
The good news is that, thanks to the “Digital India” programme, the bulk of national and state-level entrance exams are now conducted online. We hope for the best.
