The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Goa has asked students to prepare their own questions and then answer them as part of the term-end exam for ‘analog circuits’ course.
The question paper for the subject has gone viral on social media. The unique question paper comprised of just two questions – the first question was for 30 marks and had asked students to set questions of 60-marks based on lecture materials provided to them in the entire semester. It also mentioned that the questions set by the students should reflect the student’s understanding of the course. The second question was of 40 marks that instructed the students to answer the questions they had prepared for the first part.
“Avoid discussing with your friends. It may reduce your score if similarities are found”, read the question paper.
The question paper has prompted tons of reactions from social media users. Some of the users praised the institute for conducting the exam in such a unique way while others have criticized it. A user wrote that it’s not easy to choose questions to answer by yourself as it will test integrity too. He lauded the varsity to find this unique way to evaluate students by themselves.
Another user wrote that the institute has come up with an innovative alternative to conduct exams amid this difficult time.
Upon receiving objections from some quarters internally, the institute has referred the paper to its senate committee for undergraduate programs. The committee will review the question paper and present its report to the director after which any action will be decided further.
Sharad Sinha, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Department at IIT Goa told The Print that the paper was an outcome of the institute’s experiments with pedagogy and teaching methods. He said, “we would like to see that students enjoy their learning at IIT Goa and not be bogged down by academia”.