Hiccups mar start of e-evaluation of Odisha +2 Sc papers

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 6:

The first day of the first-ever online evaluation of five papers of Science stream of the Plus II examinations in Odisha conducted by the Council for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) was marred by mismanagement and anomalies.

While e-evaluation of answer sheets could not take off at Khordha, Sambalpur and Brahmapur, the problem got accentuated with around 40 percent examiners absenting themselves from their duties.

Examiners who did come to the evaluation centres were imparted training on the new format for e-evaluation of answer sheets after registration of their names.

Several examiners however, expressed disappointment over the new format and the new process while complaining that most of the centres did not have personnel for training and technical assistance. Evaluation of answer sheets was delayed by password related problems at many centres. In some places, evaluation could not start till 2 PM despite arrival of examiners at 10 AM.

“We were sent to the laboratory. They were supposed to give us ID and password, but they said they haven’t received any. For other subjects, they have issued ID and password, but for Mathematics nothing has been issued. They are saying they haven’t received any ID and password. How do you expect us to evaluate five answer sheets?” asked a visibly irritated examiner Markandeswar Mohapatra.

“Are all teachers trained in computers? Will it be sufficient if somebody tells you to do this and that on a screen unless there are some practical sessions? They should have given training on the process beforehand. There is no one here to explain things. They are asking us to come after half an hour or one hour; it’s complete mismanagement,” said a female examiner Uma Mohanty.

While evaluation could not take off at Sambalpur due to power failure, it could not be done at Khordha due to internet failure and could not start at Brahmapur due to technical failure.

CHSE’s deputy secretary Sambalpur  Uttam Pradhan, however, sought to make a virtue out of the fact that the evaluation could not be taken up because of power failure rather than the lack of familiarity of the examiners with the e-evaluation process.

“It’s not that evaluation at Amrish Patel Institute in Sambalpur could not take off today due to non-familiarity of teachers with computers, it could not take place because of disruptions in power supplies,” he said.

Out of 4,000 examiners requisitioned, around 40 percent have sought leave on grounds of illness. At many centres, examiners did not turn up in full attendance despite warnings issued by the Higher Education department.

CHSE Chairman Basudev Chhatoi, however, exuded confidence that the teething problems faced by examiners on the first day would be sorted out soon.

“At some places, passwords and IDs could not be downloaded due to slow internet connectivity. We have decided to download it the night before the assigned date and upload it on a server, which is nearby. The problem won’t be repeated. We have provisions for appointing substitute examiners as per gradation list available with us. We will appoint substitute examiners in place of examiners who have remained absent,” he said.

Chhatoi claimed that 75% of the teachers whose services had been requisitioned turned up at the evaluation centres today.

For the first time ever, a total of 4, 20,000 answer sheets in five subjects of the Science stream of 90,000 examinees will be examined online at 28 centres across the state, sources said.