Mumbai : Over 22,000 students across Maharashtra are studying under various Industrial Training Institutes(ITIs) are in a state of confusion after the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training(DVET) changed the mode of examinations from offline to online two days before exam.
The first semester examinations for over 70 different trades was scheduled across ITIs in the state on February 5 and 6. As per the earlier instructions given by the DVET, ITIs were set to conduct the examinations in the pen-paper mode.However on the evening of February 3, less than two days before the exam, the DVET asked the district-wise centres to conduct the exams of 35 trades in the ‘Online mode’ after which centres had to postpone the scheduled exams causing confusion amongst students. Now the exams would be carried between February 16-20 after students are given training for the online mode.
“We were not told about the transition in the mode of exams earlier. When a few of us reached the exam centre on Monday, we were told that the exams for the day were canceled and would be taken on a later date online. We are still not clear about how to appear for the exam in the online mode as there has been no mock test of the same” said a student from the Ambernath ITI.
A principal from a non-government ITI said that DVET’s decision was very last minute and students are likely to suffer due to this. “Taking exams online is a welcome step but such a massive transition especially for students who come from academically and ecoomically weak backgrounds will not work. Also, with the online mode, only multiple choice questions would be asked and students would not be able to draw diagrams or illustrate their answers which is the most important aspect of skill based education” added the principal.
Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided at online news portals.
