Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU-K) is a leading higher education centre based in Kakinada, India. Using e-Marker® technology, the university has successfully implemented an automated online marking system.

With over 300,000 learners and 267 affiliated colleges across eight districts of India, JNTU-K marks around 3.7 million exam scripts a year.

The process is a massive undertaking, but now, thanks to scanning and electronic marking software, exam results can be delivered more quickly and with greater accuracy than before.

The new system is also much better at rooting out incidents of fraud and corruption, helping to reduce malpractice and uphold standards.

Challenges of a manual process

JNTU-K has over 20 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including Aeronautical Engineering, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Electronics. Each semester, learners take exams in a minimum of 6 core subjects, as well as additional modules. This takes place across 267 colleges, meaning exam scripts have to be collated and sent to authorised marking centres from various locations.

Previously, a lot of the transportation and marking of scripts was done manually, often by outsourcing to hundreds of temporary staff at peak times. This, said Dr Tulasi Ram Das, JNTU-K's former Vice Chancellor, was prone to errors and malpractice.

“Without sufficient monitoring and control, there’s always scope for malpractice in the exams process: scripts can be smuggled and sold to students; unknown evaluators can give false marks; and not all teachers can be expected to remember every answer.”

Benefits of e-Marker® technology

From better turnaround times to improved quality of marking, JNTU-K has seen various benefits by using e-Marker® technology to mark exams.

Faster exam marking

During JNTU-K's first semester using e-Marker® software, the university digitally marked over a million scripts. Given each script is 32 pages long, that equated to 32 million pages being marked on-screen, in around half the time it would've taken with manual marking.

“Manual marking generally takes much longer, and, given the huge numbers, it’s simply no longer possible, or credible,” said Tulasi Ram Das.

Greater transparency

Thanks to e-Marker®, learners at JNTU-K now have the option to access their scanned marked papers online just a week after results are posted.

This has provided greater transparency and, as a result, reduced the number of enquiries about exam marking and results.

Improved standards

Since implementing e-Marker®, the quality and accuracy of marking at JNTU-K has improved by around 80% to 85%. This is because the software has various quality control features to help ensure standards are maintained.

For example, e-Marker® has a process known as segmentation where answers are broken down corresponding to question numbers and then ‘seeded out’ to up to eight separate evaluators. This has helped JNTU-K identify any markers who are not performing to the required level and increase overall standards of marking.

What’s more, e-Marker® has helped the university avoid manual, paper-based errors, as the software automatically tallies up marks, preventing evaluators from making mistakes.

“It’s a fool-proof system,” concluded Tulasi Ram Das.