The virus outbreak has led to the introduction of new EdTech based solutions within the educational processes. It has compelled us to accept alternatives for teaching and learning processes. And has also changed the ways of conducting assessments across all levels of formal education.
With the help of EdTech, we now have new and better ways of gauging the student’s performance. And in the years to come India will see better adoption of technology within our education system.
In the years 2020 and 21, the traditional models of education were already disrupted because of the pandemic.
And the virus also made a major impact on the entrance exams. Across the globe, many countries chose to postpone and reschedule these as per the scenario. Similarly, in India, several exams were canceled because of the spike in the number of Covid positive cases. To date, despite our successful countrywide vaccination drives the virus threats still continue.
And because of these ongoing challenges, many entrance exams in India are now conducted online!
The years to come will see an exponential growth of this new pattern of conducting exams. Owing to the continuous threats of the virus, online examinations are already an accepted norm. The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) was already conducted through the online mode (excluding the B. Arch drawing test). Similarly, students also appeared for GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) exams virtually.
This trend was also seen in the government exams like in UPSC. This clearly means that our education system has already accepted this new normal.
So let’s explore how EdTech can help in conducting entrance exams in the years to come:
1. At Home Online Entrance Exam – A Better Alternative
In India, at-home online entrance exams are a new norm. Visionary educational institutions have already developed their IT infrastructure. Because they are planning to conduct at-home online entrance exams in the next academic year i.e. 2022-23.
This option is a great respite for the students amidst the increasing number of positive cases infected by the new virus variant ‘Omicron’. And even in the years to come, it will be a great alternative for students to eliminate barriers like location, travel, or time constraints.
2. EdTech – A Support for the Common Entrance Exams
The pandemic has already created a grave impact on the educational planning of the Indian youth. In the year 2020 (September), one lakh students did not appear for the offline exams because of the Covid threats. EdTech can save our worthy students from missing out on their chance to enter their dream institution. And in the years to come, it will be a more credible method to safeguard the rights of students from malpractices such as examination paper leaks, etc.
According to the recent National Education Policy, 2020, the NTA (National Testing Agency) will conduct common entrance exams for university admissions. Presently, all the exams by NTA (except the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) are conducted online.
3. Better Turnout
With the help of technology, we can improve our educational productivity. And it can help to serve more students without wastage of resources.
Computer-based tests also improve the student turnout for entrance exams. For instance, in September 2021, there was a hike of 9% in the student turnout for the Odisha Joint entrance examination. 79% of the examinees appeared for the exams on the very first day. And the exam was conducted in three shifts per day.
4. Equitable Opportunities Amidst the Growing Entrance Exams Culture
To give a fair chance to students, prestigious universities like ‘Delhi University’ will also introduce an entrance test for admissions from the year 2022. This will eliminate the challenges of chasing cut-off lists. And the university will conduct these examinations for over 2.87 lakh students (for undergraduate courses).
Edtech can be a great support to reduce the overall cost of conducting these exams. Besides, it will also make these exams accessible for students from humble backgrounds.
Today, the online exam preparation space is also a booming trend. Because it saves the cost of transportation and improves the quality of learning with better student-teacher interactions. It is estimated that the test preparation market in India will grow at a CAGR of 64%. And this is the fastest-growing category in the year 2021 (Source -The KPMG Report). And with this new trend, these exams will not be ‘just for the RICH’. Several worthy students will have the chance of preparing for these exams. And the best part is that it will be irrespective of the facilities in their native land.
5. Reduce Malpractices
Of late, there have been a number of instances of paper leaks that led to the cancelation of the entrance exams.
Edtech can also help in eliminating these challenges. And it can prevent these malpractices to filter out the best candidates. With systems like Remote Proctoring, data encryption, and IP-based Authorization and Authentication, etc. there can be a fair chance for each student to appear for the entrance test. Besides, it will also save the time, energy, and money that gets wasted because of the incidents such as the cancellation of exams.
Ending Thoughts
Post the pandemic, educators have used technology to improve the process of learning. This change has already helped to maintain continuity in education with online learning during the pandemic. And it will continue to serve our students along with the stakeholders in the years to come.
Edtech can help us in making the entrance exams system more transparent and accessible. Because India is all set to create more resilient and robust systems through a digital transformation!
