Online-examination proposed by the Central University to mark the end of the second semester of the academic year is being kicked against by the students.
The E-learning and E-examination that have been necessitated by the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic that has truncated the academic calendar, has become the alternative for many educational institutions to engage their students.
The main concern of the students for kicking against the proposed E-examination is that they are not well prepared for the exams.
According to the students, some of them do not have the means to participate in the on-line examinations being suggested by the University.
The Students Representative Council (SRC) leadership has, however, issued a statement to urge the students to exercise patience, as they are engaging the school authorities to address their challenges.
The SRC informed the students “to note that there has been an extension of the examination date from 18th to 25th of this month (May) for all students and a timetable will be out soon to enable us prepare toward the exams”.
Due to the resistance by the students, the university withdrew the end of semester II examination timetable to allow the leadership of the university finalise modalities for the conduct of the examination on Thursday, April 30, 2020.
In the statement issued by the Academic Directorate and signed by Mrs Stella Etse on May 1, 2020, she urged the students to ignore the examination timetable that has been published, adding that the “Academic Directorate will communicate to the university community as soon as arrangements for the examinations are concluded.”
Fourteen days after this statement, the university issued a communiqué in which it informed the students that the University management had approved the implementation of assessments and examinations, which would be administered via Moodle, in order to facilitate the orderly completion of the academic year.
It added that no assessments will be submitted through e-mail or WhatsApp, apart from through Moodle, since it is Central University’s official online teaching platform and also declared as the appropriate examination centre.
The Academic Directorate further indicated that examinations for undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), CBS, SET, SOP, FoL, SADe and Levels 100 and 200 in SMHS will be a combination of term papers, MCQs and short answer questions.
The levels 300 and 400 students in the Nursing and PA programmes of SMHS and some courses at level 500 of SADe are excluded from using the online platform administration of assessment due to the need to have practical and clinical rotations.
Faculties and Schools – under the guidance and final authority of the Dean – will determine the appropriate format for each examination carried out through any of these means.
The agitated students were directed that each exam, depending on the School/Faculty, however, the MCQ exams shall not exceed 1½ hours while term papers uploaded for execution and submission shall be submitted within 24 hours.
The University’s standard grading scheme shall continue to apply by Interim Assessment and will constitute 40 percent while end of semester examinations executed through the means noted above will constitute 60 percent.
The post Students kick against Central University’s E-examination appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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