Calicut varsity plans to procure AI-based system for developing question banks

A proposal has been placed before the Syndicate of the University of Calicut (CU) to procure an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based system to develop question banks for undergraduate, postgraduate and professional courses.

A note presented at a recent Syndicate meeting says that at present, question paper preparation is a time-consuming process involving extensive manual effort. Instances of repetition of questions, uneven distribution of marks, and irregular module-wise weightage have also been noted, affecting the uniformity and academic quality of examinations. The note also says that while the university has initiated steps for question bank generation under the four-year undergraduate programme, there is a need to explore more efficient and robust solutions, including the use of AI-assisted tools, for question bank development.

The standing committee of the Syndicate on examinations placed the proposal to procure the AI-based software solution in this context. Funds for the purpose are expected to be sourced from the PM-USHA project. Two software companies have submitted proposals offering AI-assisted tools for developing the question banks. The standing committee is of the opinion that it is high time the university adopted a question bank system for all its examinations.

The minutes of the standing committee meeting were approved by the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) on December 27.

A senior official in the Pareeksha Bhavan told The Hindu that the university had some pending funds under the PM-USHA project, which could lapse if they were not used within a specific time frame. The proposal was to procure the AI-based system not only for developing question banks but also for the evaluation of the answer scripts. Only preliminary discussions had been initiated on this, the official added.

Meanwhile, P. Rasheed Ahammed, Syndicate member, in a letter to the V-C, claimed that no steps had been taken to issue a notice seeking an expression of interest from various companies. There was a possibility of gross lapses and corruption, as only two companies have come up with their proposals. Seeking an open tender process and transparent procedures, he said that the job of preparing the question bank should not be handed over to private companies.