Project Evaluation Measures for Quality Assurance in India

Abstract

IGNOU offers more than 300 programmes including Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Degree, Master and Ph.D. programmes. Majority of these programmes are offered through a network of Regional Centres and Study Centres. Quality education has always been on the priority of IGNOU. In the professional programmes like Computer Programmes, Health Programmes, Educational Programme, Science Programmes, it has become more important. In Computer Programmes (BCA and MCA), in addition to practical components, there is a project work (CS-76 for BCA and CS-17 for MCA). A large number of these projects are submitted at Regional Centres across the country. The quality issues like copying the project, making fake guides, hiring proxy writers and purchasing the projects from the market etc. are some of the issues which need adequate attention of all concerned. The students submit their projects proposals at the respective Regional Centres. The project proposals are approved or disapproved by the approved evaluators. The students write the full projects and submit at the Regional Centre. Thereafter, the students are asked to report for the viva-voce at the Regional Centre. The approved evaluators evaluate the project and conduct the viva voce. We have analyzed large numbers of projects proposals (Synopsis) and final projects, the reasons for the rejections of the project proposals, similarity of the projects guided by the same evaluator, the comments given by the evaluators since 2007 covering about 3000 projects that were submitted at Regional Centre Delhi-I. We have observed that there are large number of projects which are of similar contents and title, variations in evaluation and comments vis-à-vis marks awarded by the evaluators. We have recommended some corrective measures to improve upon these issues for overall improvement in the quality of projects.