NIOS test: Exam centre gave only 60 minutes instead of 90 to complete exam, allege students

As many as 200 students of class 10 appearing for a practical examination on Wednesday, conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), alleged that they had not been provided the stipulated time of 90 minutes at one of the exam centres in the city.

As per the exam timetable, the paper for the subject, Data Entry, was scheduled between 2 pm and 3.30 pm at a centre, located next to Anglo Urdu Boys School and Junior College on Azam Campus.

The parents have complained that despite students reporting at the centre around 1.45 pm, they were allowed to enter the examination hall at 2.30 pm, well after the scheduled start time of 2 pm.

“The students were not informed of any change in timings and were given old computers to work on, which also hampered their performance,” said a tutor, who did not wish to be named.

But the setback for the students came when the invigilators collected the answer sheets at 4 pm, cutting 30 minutes from the total time duration of the exam.

“This meant that many students could not complete the 60-mark examination and they are now at loss,” the tutor added.

When The Indian Express contacted officials on the Azam campus, the invigilators admitted about the confusion regarding time management during one of the exam sessions held Wednesday.“The actual time of the exam was between 2 pm and 3.30 pm. But, we had another exam scheduled at the same centre, prior to this one. That is why, we could not keep up with the time and had to delay in starting the latter examination. Out of 40 students, only one complained of falling short of time,” said Muzzamil Palekar, co-ordinator of NIOS on Azam campus. He added, “How much time will you require to answer four questions? We informed the students at the start of the exam, that the duration would be one hour instead of 90 minutes.”

The officials have asked affected students to place their grievances before the principal on Thursday.

News Source (Indian Express)