In a quiet but important corner of the examination branch of the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, a revolution is brewing that has the potential to touch the lives of millions. This digital revolution is led by its Controller of Examination Pankaj Borthakur, who has used the limited resources at his disposal, backed by an indomitable will to see it through.
The result of the initiative is already being felt far and wide. Whereas the AHSEC coffers are getting filled up because of savings and income, for those in the near 2,000 institutions under the Council, life is becoming much easier. So is the case with parents and guardians of students pursuing their higher secondary education under the Council.
“Unlike in the past, students and their parents need not come all the way from Jonai or Dhakuakhana or for that matter from a char area in Dhubri to get their answer scripts reevaluated or their spellings corrected. All they need to do is to log on to our portal and file in the application, at times free and at times for a minimal fee,” says Borthakur while talking to Asom Barta. His concept “Digitisation of Existing Examination Process of AHSEC” was praised for its simplicity and novelty by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension while shortlisting the project for National Awards for E-Governance 2019-2020, just prior to the Covid pandemic, out of the over 1,600 nominations. During his presentation of the project to a galaxy of officials and professionals in New Delhi, Borthakur stole the show although he could not get his project through while competing against schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Department of Post and Election Commission of India besides other 32 digital initiatives because of the scale involved.
“Each month, my office used
Pankaj Borthakur
to send a minimum of four
letters to these institutions. That
meant 6,000 despatches @ ₹ 34
in a month. Once we started
communicating with them over
mail, we realised that we could
save a lot of money, nearly ₹ 25
lakh, besides the advantages of
messages being delivered on a real
time basis”
(Controller of Examination, AHSEC)
His tryst with change began immediately after his appointment as Controller, AHSEC in 2018. “I realised that the manual process of communication with over 1,500 institutions (then) under the Council was very complex. I decided to connect these institutions through an email network for speed, efficiency, and economy,” Borthakur says.
“Each month, my office used to send a minimum of four letters to these institutions. That meant 6,000 despatches @ ₹ 34 in a month. Once we started communicating with them over mail, we realised that we could save a lot of money, nearly ₹ 25 lakh, besides the advantages of messages being delivered on a real time basis,” he informs this newsletter.
It was then that the Examination Branch started bringing about other reforms like an online portal for rechecking of answer scripts, filling up of online form and digitisation of all documents and their verification beginning 1986, the year the first batch of Higher Secondary students passed out under the Council banner.
By doing so, the Council has killed the proverbial two birds with one stone. It has eliminated the need for candidates to come to the Council office for these issues, thereby making the workforce more productive and earning lakhs through rechecking/re-evaluation fees for the Council. “Besides, we realised that naïve parents coming from rural areas would often be taken for a ride by dubious elements. In the process, they would lose money and time. With the digitisation of most of these works, we have done away with that as well,” he beams with satisfaction while talking to this reporter.
Shazidur Rohman, the Principal of Joruar Char Senior Secondary School in Dhubri says that the digitisation process has benefited his school immensely. “Navigating from this place to Guwahati is always a challenge. Even getting a letter on time was a challenge. With digitisation, we are in control. Most of our work is taken care of through a computer and a mouse. We save a lot now by avoiding expenses on travel and lodging,” says Rahman over phone.
He is seconded by Rajeshwar Pegu, Principal of Jonai Senior Secondary School located near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. “Getting a letter from the Council would take three to four weeks. Now, we get communicated on time, and accordingly we respond on time,” he says.
“Thanks to this preparedness that the Council could complete all relevant formalities, including declaration of the result in 2020 during the Corona pandemic whereas many a progressive States in the country could not do so,” claims Borthakur.
Kalpana Gogoi, president, Higher Secondary Princiapals’ Forum, Assam says that with communication received on time, schools across the State are in a better position to make their stand known to the Council on key issues.
Alak Buragohain, a former Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University, is all in favour of digitisation. “It obviates the need for paper, bridges distances, and thereby benefits students, institutions, and the society. I think other departments in the Government, especially the Education Department, must take a clue from the AHSEC,” he says.
