It’s not just the CAT which has gone online, several schools are keen to introduce the new system in their examinations too. Sulochna Devi School in Thane pioneered the trend when they recently did away with the traditional pen and paper, and conducted unit tests online. It’s a system that’s believed to speed up the process of evaluation and get students accustomed to technology.
However, educationists are not so upbeat about the process. Swati Vats, president, Podar Education Complex says, “This method may prove to be successful for shorter exams like the unit tests or class tests, where questions are short and generally have an objective format. But in the long run for the more important term tests we definitely can’t observe this format,” says Vats. She also adds that schools might be initiating this to set a competitive edge, but the online system has its own flaws which will show in a country that’s used to the traditional format.
But Sultan Ahmed, founder of education portal Edutainment has a rather futuristic approach. “Online exams will replace the paper and pen format in the long run. But it is ingrained in our subconscious to produce something productive with a paper and pen and the physical aspect drives our thinking,” he adds.