Mumbai: Admitting the Mumbai University’s failure in coping with the new online assessment system, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that in future, the government will ensure such technologies are implemented systematically and only in phases.
Speaking during a debate in the Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Fadnavis said the government has taken a serious note of the issue and will ensure all results are declared by August 5, the new deadline set by Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao after the university failed to meet the previous deadline of July 31.
Mr. Fadnavis said that of the 17 lakh papers, about 14 lakh have been assessed while the results of 171-odd courses have been declared. The rest will be declared by August 5. The government will ensure there is no adverse impact on the future of students, and plans to issue certificates by August 15 for students who are keen on going abroad, he said.
“There is no denying the university has failed to cope with this technology. In hindsight, it would have been better to implement the new technology in a phased manner. This would have allowed evaluators enough time to complete their task. In future, we will implement technologies in phases,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
He said the government will look into the question of phasing out the online system or replacing it in future.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar said, “This is a failure of the Education Minister and the Vice Chancellor. The loss is nobody’s but students. This is a technology which is being used nation-wide, but the university has failed to implement it.”
According to reports, as many as 2.9 lakh answer scripts are yet to be assessed and another one lakh need to be moderated. “The honourable Governor has himself taken a serious note of this delay, and summoned the Vice Chancellor to set a new deadline. We are hopeful of resolving the matter soon,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
