The National Maritime Institute (NMI) Bangladesh is going to introduce a paperless, digital entry exam system to prevent question paper leak in its admission test. This state-owned research and education institute is spending Tk. 50 lakh to introduce this new technology-based system at the pre-sea ratings entry examination, scheduled for September this year, to prevent paper leak and reduce the time to publish the results.

Question paper leak at different public exams and admission tests has recently sparked criticism across the country. This has prompted the NMI to introduce the transparent digital system, said NMI principal Capt. Faisal Azim.

Under this new system, a student will have to sit before a computer and answer 150 questions appearing on the screen. After answering each question, the examinee will see whether his/her answer was right or wrong.  After completion of the exam, the student will get to see his/her total score and understand if he/she has qualified for the viva voce exam.

At present, the NMI conducts its entry exams with question papers and the examinees answer the questions by filling the OMR sheet.

“Even if the examinees sit together, there will be no problem under the new system. Every computer will show a different set of questions. Our digital database will store 30,000 questions— 10,000 questions on English, 10,000 on mathematics and 10,000 on general knowledge. Each examinee will get 150 questions on a random basis,” said Capt. Faisal Azim.

He also said that they sought the opinions of Chittagong University (CU) vice-chancellor Prof. Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury and four members of the CU computer science and engineering department on the efficacy of the new examination systems.

The system has been termed as contemporary by the experts, he added.

“This paperless system will accelerate the government's digitisation initiatives. The examinees will get to see their result instantly. This will ensure the inclusion of meritorious students,” he said.

Established in 1952, the NMI mainly conducts pre-sea courses on nautical and engineering disciplines. It also runs two more sub-departments: the catering department and the physical regimental training department.