Technology varsities not up to reputation

Universities of engineering and technology are held in higher esteem than their peers in the general education category. This is precisely because they teach and facilitate research on modern technologies. Public expectations from such institutions are higher too. The institutes witness intense competition among students in every admission session. Students leave no stone unturned to secure a seat there. However, the institutes, which evolved from engineering colleges and then Bangladesh Institute of Technology (BIT), have failed to live up to the expectations. They cannot still devise a method that can facilitate entry tests without the admission seekers visiting their individual campuses. At least one of the universities even requires the admission seekers to visit its campus twice - one for preliminary test and the other for final test. These universities have proved by their outdated systems that they are primitive to the core. The people, who are at the helm of the institutions, are yet to take advantage of digitisation and give the impression that they are insensitive to admission seekers' trouble.

The engineering universities had joined the cluster admission system, which facilitated students appearing for the entry test at the centres at any of the member institutions. But this year they have abandoned the system and reverted to the traditional one, requiring students to travel to specific centres, which pose difficulties due to transportation issues, health concerns, or financial constraints. It has left the students to undergo ordeals like before. The cluster admission test reduced the travel costs, minimised stress, and ensured fair evaluation and efficient resource utilisation. The system gave students a respite from travelling to multiple cities to take separate admission tests, offered them a chance to get well prepared without juggling multiple admission requirements, ensured that all candidates are evaluated on the same criteria, thus eliminating discrepancies between different university tests, and helped the universities pool resources to manage the test more effectively.

When the universities need to adopt innovative admission test methods like remote, online or hybrid testing models to ensure a wider reach, allowing students from different parts of the country to participate without geographical constraints, they get back the same primitive method.

They are perhaps unable to understand that amid the advancement of technology and increasing challenges in physical examination arrangements, remote examination systems have emerged as a viable alternative globally.  Digital remote examination methods can offer a more accessible, efficient, and inclusive approach to selecting candidates. It provides live proctoring, ensuring fairness through AI-driven or human proctors monitoring students via webcam, facilitates automatic evaluation through digital question banks, and prevents cheating by ensuring the same candidate remains present throughout the test, detecting unusual patterns in typing and identifying suspicious behaviour, such as looking away from the screen frequently or using unauthorised devices. It also randomises question papers, ensuring every candidate receives a different set of questions, and makes it difficult to share answers.

The engineering and technology universities can introduce this sort of advanced exam system if they take the matter seriously, overcoming the lure of monetary benefit. There is a public perception that the university opted for separate admission tests for earning money in the form of admission fees. In the separate exam system, an admission seeker has to pay for each university he or she tries to get admitted to. The universities need to change this perception.

Still if the universities cannot adopt a remote examination system right at the moment, they can at least revert to the cluster admission system.

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