Nagpur University to Implement 60:40 Paper Setting Pattern

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), formerly known as Nagpur University, is a public state university, established on August 4, 1923, in the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra state in central India. It is one of the oldest universities in India and the second oldest in the state of Maharashtra, after the University of Mumbai. Named after Tukdoji Maharaj, its focus has been on teaching Indian languages like Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi and Urdu besides other subjects like medical sciences, general sciences, arts, commerce and engineering. The university has been offering medical degrees since 1947.

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU)/ Nagpur University (NU) has recently changes its exam pattern in all of its courses in the affiliated colleges under it. This change will be effective from the next academic session.

What is 60:40 pattern

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU)/ Nagpur University (NU) will conduct 60% of exam paper for all subjects, which will essentially be objective type questions comprising multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The remaining 40% will be the responsibility of respective colleges, primarily comprising of the theoretical type.

Interestingly, students have to clear both exams separately, which will rule out any chances of colleges granting favours to their students. Currently, Nagpur University will be providing Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) answer sheets for the students, which would be scanned through computers. It will be conducted on the lines of UPSC/ MPSC exams and results will be out within eight days.

Advantages of the new exam pattern at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU):

* No need of teachers for evaluation, revaluation & paper setting

* Spot evaluation centres to be closed down

* No need to pay honorarium & TA, DA bills to teachers

* Money saved can be utilised for other purposes

* Colleges need to fill up principals and teachers posts, share responsibility for conducting exams

* Exam Section could operate with just 50 employees against present 175

Difficulties:

* Teachers wouldn't agree as it will significantly slash their extra income over salary

* Statutory bodies, mostly comprising teachers, could oppose change

* Majority of colleges operating without infrastructure & teachers will vehemently oppose it

* Cluster concept wouldn't be feasible as good colleges wouldn't share the burden for a long time

* Colleges could adopt lenient approach while granting marks, like in a case of practicals/sessionals

* To go online will be a tedious task as NU distributes handwritten mark sheets till date

Nagpur University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. It has been accredited with the 'A' grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), New Delhi. It is now been labelled as one of the best universities in the country due to its strict assessment and extremely high standards of academia. It has also been ranked among some of the top Universities in India.