“The online exam concept was mooted in the academic council held in November last year and the decision was taken to conduct online practical exam for “fundamentals of programming languages’, a compulsory subject for the first year engineering students,” said Prakash Wani, dean of engineering faculty, UoP.

“The paper will be put up on the server so that all students can solve it simultaneously. The assessment of the paper will also be done online,” said Wani.

“Education sector is now included in the service sector. We have to be on our toes to make changes in the system according to the changing scenario. In fact there is an amendment done in the section 37 of the Maharashtra Universities Act. According to this amendment, there is a possibility for frequent changes. It can help reform the system,” he said.

“The online exam is a good step as it will clear the basics of the students about computer studies, which has now applications in all branches,” said G. V. Garje, chairman of board of studies of computer engineering.

“Till date, this subject was not taken with that much seriousness by the students, as the exam was conducted internally. Now, as the university is going to conduct the practical exam, it has to be taken seriously,” he said.

“The modalities of how to conduct the exam are yet to be finalised; but the duration will be one hour and apart from the college supervision, one supervisor from the university will also be present in the colleges at the time of examination,” he added.

“It is a really good move,” said Rahul Sarnoubat, a third year engineering student of CoEP. “Fundamentals of programming languages is an important subject as it clears the basics. By conducting practical exams online for this subject, it will give a good exposure for the students,” said Rahul.