Frame your questions & answer them: IIT Goa's unique examination
IIT Goa has prepared an exam that could test students' knowledge and integrity at the same time. Even as schools/colleges across India are scrambling to teach and evaluate students amid the coronavirus pandemic, the premier engineering institution has come up with a unique way to do that. In a recent paper, the college asked its students to prepare their own questions before answering them.
Paper was for second-year electrical engineering students
The Analog Circuits paper was meant for second-year students of electrical engineering course at the IIT. The paper, dated May 11, asked students to frame questions from the lecture materials provided to them through the semester. "It should reflect your understanding of the course and must be answered in two hours," the paper read. This part carried 30 marks.
Exam worth 70 marks, allowed duration of 3 hours
In the second part of the test, students were asked to solve the questions they had prepared, which was worth 40 marks. So, the exam was worth 70 marks in totality and allowed a time duration of 180 minutes to complete. It also warned students against discussing their questions and answers with their peers as similarities could lead to a reduction in their scores.
'In Goa, even the IITs are chill-out'
The innovative exercise has since made its way to social media, where many praised its uniqueness while some criticized it. Others simply found it pretty amusing. Nonetheless, the paper has brought IIT Goa in spotlight and triggered a debate within academic and professional circles. One user hilariously commented that in the coastal Goa, even the IITs take it easy.
Paper referred to internal committee for review
However, considering objections from some quarters within the institution, the IIT has referred the question paper to its senate committee for undergraduate programs. That committee will now review the paper and submit its report to the IIT Director soon, after which a course of action would be decided. IIT Goa Director BK Mishra also said the issue would be dealt with internally.
'Found it novel': IIT Director says he liked the idea
Professor Mishra said he personally liked the idea and appreciates that it has triggered a debate within academic circles. "As Director of IIT-Goa, I do not interfere with my faculty members' academic freedom," he said, according to The Times of India. "I found it novel at a time when students are struggling, we need new ways of evaluating them in an online teaching-learning scenario."
