Whatever the exam maybe, it is customary that each candidate is given a unique identification number.This unique identification number serves two purposes. Firstly it uniquely identifies a candidate. Secondly it gives anonymity for the candidate with regards to evaluation of exam papers and preparation of results. This anonymity is essential to ensuring that an impartial evaluation of performance of a candidate has taken place. Furthermore if the exam number of a student became common knowledge of every one, possibility of fraud, discrimination or favoritism taking place will dramatically increase during the process of exam paper evaluation and preparation of results.
Recently an announcement was made in public media stating that department of examinations has decided to give each student a unique exam number for the entire life time of the student.This means a given student will use the same identical exam number in any exam carried out by the department of examinations. These exams include year five scholarship examination, ordinary level examination and advanced level examination, which mark significant milestones of a student in shaping his or her life. This policy will not uphold the attribute called 'anonymity' expected out of an exam number which is of utmost importance. Although from an administrative perspective this step might make the whole process of conducting an island wide examination more simpler, less error prone and even less time consuming , it will compromise the fairness of evaluating the performance of a candidate and open up the chances of fraud taking place. This is because, the new policy will increase the possibility of knowing some one else s exam number before[and after] the exam by many fold. Some will argue that this possibility is not something introduced by the new policy and is something present currently as well. True, however for each exam a different exam number is currently given to the candidate. This too, is given at most three,four weeks before the exam. Which means to find out some one else s exam number a fraudster will get only a small time window. In terms of the new policy there is virtually no such constraint.
It is essential that 'anonymity' is ensured when it comes to evaluation of the performance of a candidate in any exam and we earnestly hope department of examination will not move forward with it's new policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment