Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 26 Research Article Attitude of Teachers and Students towards Online Examination during the COVID-19 period: A Study Monjusree Bora Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Raha College, Nagaon, Assam E-mail: monjusree1@gmail.com Abstract Covid-19 pandemic had paused our day-to-day life for a while when the whole world was shuttered by its devastation. For every country, the economy and education have remained the utmost priorities in matters of development. It is of no exception for our country that the most prominent sectors affected by Covid-19 were the economy and education. The most vulnerable was the student community because the offline classes were stopped and its related issues. Due to this, the mode of examination was online only. Several kinds of problems came to the forefront while analysing the advantages and disadvantages of online examination. The present study attempts to know the attitude of students and teachers towards online examinations. The investigator, by using a purposive sampling method, selected 256 undergraduate students and 80 teachers from different colleges in the Nagaon district of Assam. The data were analyzed by using a simple frequency percentage, Mean, and SD. Keywords: COVID-19, Online examination, Students, Teachers, Attitude. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a virus named Corona, which has affected all the people of the universe irrespective of gender, culture, race, socio-economic status, region, occupation, community and so on. It is one of the biggest pandemics regarding the number of people affected worldwide. The virus was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and the first detected case was discovered on 17th October 2019. India was no exception, and it took no longer for her to be affected by COVID-19 within a very short period of its inception. As a result, the Indian Government announced the first lockdown phase from 25th March 2020 to 14th April 2020 and its second subsequent one from 15th April to 17th May 2020. As a result, all the businesses, industry along educational institutions from pre-primary to higher education were shut down. Though online learning is not a very new concept in our education system, the closing of educational institutions gave a strong reason to implement and use online education as the only alternative left to be adopted both for teachers and learners. Various online platforms like WhatsApp, Google Classroom, Webex, Telegram, Zoom, etc, were used for the very first time largely for conducting classes, examinations, evaluations, seminars, conferences, workshops, orientation programmes, refresher courses, and faculty development programmes (FDP) etc. The teaching- learning process was quite affected for various reasons like poor connectivity, lack of electronic gadgets, untrained teachers to conduct online classes, lack of motivation, interest, attention, etc. Conducting examinations online is not very old, especially in countries like India. The entire setup had to be designed in a newer and separate way. Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 27 The question papers were available online, and the students within the given time frame had to write and complete their answers, then upload them online and also submit hard copies of the answer sheets to their educational institutions if required and instructed by the respective institutions. Moreover, some institutions conduct examination through multiple choice questions (MCQs), which the students had to attempt online only. Some educational institutions (specially the privately run institutions) made very effective attempts to let the students easily handle the entire process of online examination by giving tutorials (online) and mock test and the final examinations were conducted in the same way as they were practised previously. The higher educational institutions had even to conduct viva-voce and internal assessment examinations by online mode. Various universities in India conducted M.Phil ad Ph.D viva-voce during Covid-19 period through online mode, which gives a new dimension to shift teaching- learning and research from offline to online mode. Review of Related Literature Bachhar, Anindita and Das Mitu (2021) in the study found that there existed no difference in the attitude of students (gender, qualification, and habitat). Some insufficient technical structure makes the offline examination more comfortable and reliable than online mode. Mondal Rimi (2021) conducted a study to know the attitude of college and university students towards online examination. The study reported that there was no difference between the attitudes of college and university students towards online examination. But, significant differences were found between the attitude of boys and girls of colleges towards online examination. However, the attitude of university boys and girls showed no difference. Khan, M et al. (2020), made a study on Students’ Perception towards E-learning during COVID-19 Pandemic in India. The study reveals the preferences of students for e-learning as it provides them much freedom to connect with their teachers, fellow students and engage with their study materials at the comfort and flexibility of space and time .This findings is based on usefulness, self-efficacy, ease of use of students as regards e-learning. Therefore, necessary measures should be adopted for improving the quality of E-learning to help with better learning of students during the phase of COVID-19 pandemic. Elsalem, Lina et.al (2020) in the study found that online examination had more benefits than offline traditional examinations. It was found efficient regarding time, effort and money spend on the entire process of the examination. Elzainy, et.al (2020) made a study to know the experience of E-learning and online assessment during Covid-119 pandemic. The samples were selected from college of Medicine, Qussim University. E-learning was found to be very effective and beneficial. Digital learning environment was found very impressive and students were highly satisfied regarding online assessment. Adanir, Gulgun. Afacan. et.al. (2020) found learners’ changed perceptions according to gender, major and prior online course experience variables. The Turkish learners found online examination less stressful, reliable and fairer than the Kyrgys students. Needs and Significance of the Study Covid-19 is the largest pandemic ever faced by humanity. The teaching- learning process was affected badly by it. Examination is the process to evaluate students’ academic progress and achievement. It is also necessary to promote them from one standard to another. The Covid-19 pandemic along Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 28 with other aspects of teaching-learning also left no exception to convert the traditional offline examination to online, which was not very obvious both for students and teachers to accept easily. Therefore, to know the attitude of students and teachers towards online examination is very important as it will open various positive and negative aspects of the same. This will be helpful to wipe out the negative impacts and work on them to make online examination as fruitful and useful as offline. If we are able to do it, conducting online examination in better ways in near future (whether any pandemic situation will be there or not) will be possible. This will also make online examination as a substitute of offline examination in its true sense. With these things in mind, the investigator conducted the present study. Objectives of the Study 1. To know the attitude of students towards online examination. 2. To know the attitude of teachers towards online examination. 3. To know the challenges faced by students and teachers regarding online examination. Hypotheses H1: The attitude of students towards online examination is positive. H2: The attitude of teachers towards online examination is positive. Methodology of the Study Descriptive survey method was used for conducting the study. The sampling method selected by the investigator was purposive sampling method. The total undergraduate population of the selected colleges were 1280. Among them, 650 were boys and 630 were girls. The investigator selected 20 per cent students i.e., 256 students as samples for the study. 20 per cent boys (130) and 20 per cent girls (126) were taken. Moreover, 80 teachers’ samples were selected for the study. An attitude scale was prepared by the investigator for conducting the study. It was a Likert type scale having 20 statements to know the attitude of both students and teachers. There were alternatives namely Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree and Strogly disagree against each statement. The respondents had to put tick mark in any one alternative in every statement. 5,4, 3,2 and 1 marks were given in the alternatives Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, and Strongly disagree respectively and the reverse pattern that is 1,2,3,4,5 marks were given in the alternatives Strongly disagree, Disagree, Undecided, Agree and Strongly agree respectively. Moreover, a questionnaire was prepared to know the challenges faced by students and teachers. A total 32 questions were incorporated and every question had two (2) options- ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. The respondents had to select any one option from the two. For the response ‘Yes’ 1 mark and for ‘No’ 0 mark was given and the number and percentage of positive and negative attitude were determined. Before finalising the questionnaire and attitude scale, a pilot study was conducted on samples of students who were of same nature selected for the study. The questionnaire included 45 questions of closed form and 50 statements. In order to test the content validity of the questions and statements, it was applied on 100 students before final execution. After getting responses from that group, the tools were given to experts and on the basis of suggestions, modifications were done and final form was prepared. Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 29 Scoring weightage of the attitude scale For interpretation of attitude levels, raw scores were converted into Z-scores and attitude levels were determined accordingly and that procedure was made similar to that one adopted in scoring the items of the try-out attitude scale. Table-1 : Assignment of attitude levels 1. Range of Z-scores Attitude level 2. +.22 to +2.60 Positive 3. -.80 to -4.53 Negative Reliability co-efficient of the attitude scale was calculated with the help of Split-half method and Test-Retest method which were found 0.92 and 0.86 respectively. Table-2 : Gender-wise frequency and percentage of the Sample (Students) Sl. No Respondents’ demographic information Frequency Percentage Gender 1. Male 130 50.78 2. Female 126 49.22 3. Total 256 100.00 Figure-1: Gender-wise distribution of the Sample (Students) Table-3 : Locality-wise frequency and percentage of the Sample (Students) Sl. No Respondents’ demographic information Frequency Percentage Locality 1. Urban 150 58.59 2. Rural 106 41.41 3. Total 256 100.00 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 30 Figure-2: Locality-wise distribution of the Sample (Students) Table-4 : Gender-wise frequency and percentage of the Sample (Teachers) Sl. No Respondents’ demographic information Frequency Percentage Gender 1. Male 34 42.50 2. Female 46 57.50 3. Total 80 100.00 Figure-3: Gender-wise distribution of the Sample (Teachers) Table-5 : Locality-wise frequency and percentage of the Sample (Teachers) Sl. No Respondents’ demographic information Frequency Percentage Locality 1 Urban 42 52.50 2 Rural 38 57.50 3 Total 80 100.00 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 31 Figure-4 : Locality-wise distribution of the Sample (Teachers) Analysis and Interpretation of Data Analysis of data for the present study were done objective wise. Different statistical methods like Simple frequency percentage (per cent), Mean and Standard Deviation (SD) were used. Objective 1: To know the attitude of students towards online examination. H1: The attitude of students towards online examination is positive. Table-6 : Attitude of students towards online examination (Gender wise) Sl. No. Statements SA A UD DA SD M SD M F M F M F M F M F M F M F 1. Online examination is easy to appear than offline examination. 55 52 37 30 13 10 15 18 10 16 3.86 3.67 3.56 3.44 2. There is no need to maintain discipline of examination hall in online examination. 57 50 39 30 10 12 14 18 10 16 3.91 3.28 2.08 3.46 3. It is difficult to clear doubts in online examination. 45 52 34 30 20 21 20 17 11 10 3.63 3.86 3.36 3.52 4. Online examination is only suitable to colleges of urban areas. 20 23 25 27 20 22 45 43 20 11 2.84 3.06 2.65 2.76 5. Conducive home environment is needed for online examination. 50 55 37 35 18 10 15 25 10 1 3.78 3.55 3.49 3.65 6. Online examination makes students nervous. 40 38 37 32 23 20 20 25 10 11 3.59 3.48 3.31 3.23 7. Getting enough confidence in online examination is tough. 45 50 37 36 23 20 15 10 10 10 2.01 3.93 3.64 3.52 8. Result of online examination is not satisfactory. 25 35 20 12 25 10 35 10 25 11 2.88 2.25 2.72 2.71 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 32 9. Internet connectivity is very crucial in online examination. 70 76 27 35 18 10 10 4 5 1 4.13 4.44 3.76 3.99 10. Good ICT tools are needed for online examination. 68 70 36 35 20 10 4 9 2 2 4.26 4.28 4.43 3.76 11. Online examination is costly. 42 38 38 28 10 12 20 20 20 28 3.47 3.06 3.28 3.12 12. Online examination is suitable to bright students. 52 45 28 34 15 8 15 18 20 21 3.59 3.51 3.40 3.17 13. Online evaluation of answer scripts is not easy. 45 50 23 42 17 8 10 15 35 11 3.25 3.83 3.16 3.54 14. Online examination can not take the place of offline examination. 70 67 35 43 15 10 10 4 5 2 4.30 4.34 3.76 3.91 15. Online examination is very erratic. 55 60 35 42 10 10 18 7 12 7 3.79 4.12 3.52 3.76 16. Cheating can be easily done in the online examination. 70 75 45 43 8 5 5 2 2 1 4.35 4.5 3.97 4.04 17. Prior instructions are needed before appearing online examination. 76 80 45 41 5 3 2 1 2 1 4.46 4.57 4.01 4.09 18. Online examination is time consuming. 60 65 44 42 10 5 12 7 4 7 4.10 4.20 4.18 3.83 19. It is easy to conduct online examinations at any time of the academic year. 70 65 35 39 10 17 11 4 5 1 4.20 4.29 3.83 3.86 20. Online examination saves the money and energy of college administration. 45 50 23 42 17 8 10 15 35 11 3.25 3.83 3.16 3.54 * Strongly agree (SA), Agree (A), Undecided (UD), Disagree (D) and Strongly disagree (SD) From Table 6 it is revealed that regarding easiness to appear online examination than offline examination maximum number (Male 55, Female 52) students are strongly agree with Mean 3.86 (Male) and 3.67 (Female) and SD 3.56 (Male) and 3.44 (Female). 57 Male and 50 Female students strongly agreed with the fact that there is no need to maintain discipline in the examination hall during online examinations, with Mean values of 3.91(Male) and 3.28 (Female) and SD 2.08 (Male), 3.46 (Female). 45 Male and 52 Female students also strongly agreed that it is difficult to clear doubts in the online system of examination (Mean of Males 3.63 and 3.86 for females; SD of Males 3.36 and for females 3.52). Regarding the fact that online examination is suitable for colleges of urban areas, the highest number of responses are found in the disagree category (45 Males and 43 Female students with Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 33 a Mean of 2.84 for Males and 3.06 for female students; SD 2.65 (Males) and 2.76 (Female). The statements in which students strongly agreed apart from the above mentioned are requiring a conducive home environment for online examinations (Males 50, Female 55), becoming nervous to appear online examination (Male 30, Female 38), tough to get enough confidence in online examination (Male 45, Female 50), how crucial internet connectivity for appearing in online examination (Male 70, Female 76), need of ICT tools (Male 68, Female 70), costliness of online examination (Male 42, Female 38), suitability of online examination for bright students (Male 52, Female 45), online examination which can not take the place of offline examination (Male 70, Female 67), erratic nature of online examination (Male 55, Female 60), easy use of cheating (Male70, Female 75), need of prior instructions to appear in online examination (Male 76, Female 80). On the other hand students have agreed in some statements like time- consuming nature of online examination (Male 60, Female 65), easiness of conducting online examination in any time of the academic year (Male 60, Female 65) and money and time saving nature of this form of examination (Male 40, Female 45). Table-7 : Attitude of students towards online examination (Locality wise) Sl. No. Statements HA A UD DA SD M SD U R U R U R U R U R U R U R 1. Online examination is easy to appear than offline examination. 65 40 59 25 11 10 17 16 8 15 4.42 3.55 3.72 3.35 2. There is no need to maintain discipline of examination hall in online examination. 67 40 40 25 10 10 23 16 10 15 3.87 3.56 3.58 3.35 3. It is difficult to clear doubts in online examination. 65 42 34 25 20 21 20 15 11 7 3.81 3.87 3.52 3.49 4. Online examination is only suitable to colleges of urban areas. 25 15 25 24 20 22 55 40 25 5 2.80 3.04 2.58 2.74 5. Conducive home environment is needed for online examination. 60 45 40 30 20 10 20 20 10 1 4.37 3.92 3.42 3.58 6. Online examination makes students nervous. 45 28 47 30 23 20 25 20 10 8 3.61 3.47 3.35 3.18 7. Getting enough confidence in online examination is tough. 55 40 40 30 25 20 17 6 13 10 3.71 3.79 3.43 3.49 8. Result of online examination is not satisfactory. 30 32 30 10 25 5 45 7 25 7 3.07 2.22 2.83 2.75 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 34 9. Internet connectivity is very crucial in online examination. 85 66 30 30 18 5 12 4 5 1 4.19 4.47 3.82 4.03 10. Good ICT tools are needed for online examination. 75 57 46 30 20 12 4 5 5 2 4.21 4.27 3.81 3.86 11. Online examination is costly. 25 15 40 25 10 12 50 30 25 24 2.93 2.78 2.76 2.63 12. Online examination is suitable to bright students. 20 15 30 30 15 8 60 40 25 13 2.73 2.94 2.54 2.73 13. Online evaluation of answer scripts is not easy. 55 40 30 40 17 8 13 10 35 8 3.38 3.89 3.25 3.66 14. Online examination can not take the place of offline examination. 80 55 40 37 15 12 10 1 5 1 4.20 4.59 3.82 4.26 15. Online examination is very erratic. 21 10 37 32 10 12 57 55 12 5 2.73 3.10 2.58 2.69 16. Cheating can be easily done in online examination. 76 65 50 35 8 3 7 2 7 1 4.17 4.52 2.81 2.71 17. Prior instructions are needed before appearing online examination. 86 70 50 31 5 3 3 1 6 1 4.38 4.58 3.96 3.99 18. Online examination is time consuming. 68 55 45 32 10 5 15 7 6 13 3.91 4.20 3.64 3.79 19. It is easy to conduct online examination in any time of the academic year. 78 55 40 29 12 17 11 4 10 1 4.30 4.25 3.75 3.83 20. Online examination saves the money and energy of college administration. 55 45 33 32 17 8 10 10 35 11 3.42 3.85 3.28 3.57 * Strongly agree (SA), Agree (A), Undecided (UD), Disagree (D) and Strongly disagree (SD) From Table 7 it is revealed that regarding easiness to appear online examination than offline examination maximum number (Urban 65, Rural 40) students are strongly agree with Mean 4.42 (Urban) and 3.55 (Rural) and SD 3.72 (Urban) and 3.35 (Rural). 67 Urban and 40 Rural students strongly agreed with the fact that there is no need to maintain discipline in the examination hall during online examinations with Mean values of 3.87 (Urban) and 3.56 (Rural) and SD 3.58 (Urban), and 3.35 (Rural). 65 Urban and 42 Rural students also strongly agreed that it is difficult to clear doubts in the online system of examination (Mean of Urban 3.81 and 3.87 for Rural; SD of Urban 3.52 and for Rural 3.49). Regarding the fact that online examination is suitable for the colleges of urban areas, the highest number of responses are found in the disagree category (55 Urban and 40 Rural students with a Mean of 2.80 for Urban Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 35 and 3.04 for Rural students; SD 2.58 (Urban) and 2.74 (Rural). The statements in which students strongly agreed apart from the above mentioned are requiring a conducive home environment for online examinations (Urban 65, Rural 40), tough to get enough confidence in online examinations (Urban 55, Rural 40), and also Strongly Agree category (Urban 40, Rural 30), how crucial internet connectivity for appearing in online examination (Urban 85, Rural 66), the need of ICT tools (Urban 75, Rural 57), online examination which can not take the place of offline examination (Urban 85, Rural 55), easy use of cheating (Urban 76, Rural 65), the need of prior instructions to appear in online examination (Urban 86, Rural 70), time- consuming nature of online examination (Urban 68, Rural 55), easiness of conducting online examination in any time of the academic year (Urban 78, Rural 55) and money and time-saving nature of this form of examination (Urban 55, Rural 45). Most students agreed (Urban 47, Rural 30) regarding becoming nervous about appearing online examination, along with those in the Strongly Agree category (Urban 45, Rural 28). In some statements, students disagreed regarding the costliness of online examination (Urban 50, Rural 30), the suitability of online examination for bright students (Urban 60, Rural 40) and the erratic nature of online examination (Urban 57, Rural 55). So, analysing all the statements and responses towards them by both students regarding gender (male and female) as well as locality (urban and rural), it can be concluded that students have positive attitude towards online examination as in maximum number of statements they either strongly agree or agree towards the facts incorporated in the statements and that is why the hypothesis formulated for objective 1 is proved. Objective 2: To know the attitude of teachers towards online examination. H2: The attitude of teachers towards online examination is positive. Table-8 : Attitude of teachers towards online examination Sl. No. Statements SA A UD DA SD M SD N % N % N % N % N % 1. Online examination is easy to appear than offline examination. 35 43.75 20 25 5 6.25 10 12.5 10 12.5 3.75 3.53 2. There is no need to maintain discipline of examination hall in online examination. 40 50 20 25 0 0 10 12.5 10 12.5 3.87 3.64 3. It is difficult to clear doubts in online examination. 45 56.25 20 25 8 10 2 2.5 5 6.25 4.22 4.37 4. Online examination is only suitable to colleges of urban areas. 23 28.75 20 25 5 6.25 20 25 12 15 3.27 3.06 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 36 5. Conducive home environment is needed for online examination. 40 50 23 28.75 4 5 10 12.5 3 3.75 4.08 3.74 6. Online examination makes students nervous. 35 43.75 21 26.25 10 12.5 12 15 2 2.5 3.93 3.60 7. Getting enough confidence in online examination is tough. 43 53.75 20 25 2 2.5 10 12.5 5 6.25 4.07 3.76 8. Result of online examination is not satisfactory. 43 53.75 23 28.75 3 3.75 5 6.25 6 7.5 4.15 3.81 9. Internet connectivity is very crucial in online examination. 65 81.25 10 12.5 0 0 2 2.5 3 3.75 4.2 4.26 10. Good ICT tools are needed for online examination. 56 70 10 12.5 2 2.5 8 10 4 5 4.32 3.98 11. Online examination is costly. 34 42.5 23 28.75 5 6.25 10 12.5 8 10 3.81 3.55 12. Online examination is suitable to bright students. 34 42.5 24 30 6 7.5 10 12.5 6 7.5 3.87 3.58 13. Online evaluation of answer scripts is not easy. 47 58.75 24 30 3 3.75 4 5 2 2.5 4.37 3.96 14. Online examination cannot take the place of offline examination. 43 53.75 23 28.75 5 6.25 5 2 4 5 4.2 3.83 15. Online examination is very erratic. 45 56.25 24 30 4 5 3 3.75 4 5 4.28 3.90 16. Cheating can be easily done in online examination. 46 57.5 26 32.5 2 4 4 5 2 4 4.37 3.96 17. Prior instructions are needed before appearing online examination. 46 57.5 23 28.75 2 4 6 7.5 3 3.75 4.28 3.91 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 37 18. Online examination is time consuming. 34 42.5 24 42.5 5 6.25 6 7.5 11 13.75 3.8 3.55 19. It is easy to conduct online examination in any time of the academic year. 54 67.5 21 26.25 0 0 2 4 3 3.75 4.51 4.09 20. Online examination saves the money and energy of college administration. 43 53.75 23 28.75 2 4 10 12.5 2 4 4.18 3.82 * Strongly agree (SA), Agree (A), Undecided (UD), Disagree (D) and Strongly disagree (SD) From Table 8 it is revealed that regarding easiness to appear online examination than offline examination maximum number 35 (43.75 per cent) teachers are strongly agree, 20 (25 per cent) agree, 5 (6.25 per cent) undecided, 10 (12.5 per cent) disagree and 10 (12.5 per cent) Strongly disagree with Mean 3.75 and SD 3.53. 40 (50 per cent) teachers are strongly agreed, 20 (25 per cent) agree, 10 (12.5 per cent) disagree and 10 (12.5 per cent) Strongly disagree with Mean 3.87 and SD 3.64 with the fact that there is no need of maintaining discipline in examination hall during online examination. 45 (52.65 per cent) teachers are also strongly agreed, 20 (25 per cent) agreed, 8 (10 per cent) undecided, 2 (2.50 per cent) disagreed and 5 (6.25 per cent) Strongly disagreed that it is difficult to clear doubts in online system of examination (Mean 4.22 and SD 4.35). Regarding the fact that online examination is suitable to the colleges of urban areas, 23 (28.75 per cent) Strongly agree, 20 (25 per cent) agree, 5 (6.25 per cent) undecided, 20 (25 per cent) disagree and 12 (15 per cent) Strongly disagree with the Mean of 3.27 and SD 3.06. The statements in which the teachers strongly agreed apart from the above mentioned are requiring conducive home environment for online examination 40 (50 per cent), online examination makes students nervous (35, 43.75 per cent), tough to get enough confidence in online examination (43, 53.75) getting not enough satisfaction in online examination results (43, 53.75 per cent), how crucial internet connectivity for appearing in online examination (65, 81.25 per cent), need of ICT tools (56. 70 per cent), costliness of online examination (34, 42.5 per cent), suitability of online examination for bright students (34, 42.5 per cent), tough to evaluate online examination (47, 58.75 per cent), online examination which cannot take the place of offline examination (43, 53.75 per cent), erratic nature of online examination (45, 56.25 per cent), easy use of cheating (46, 57.5 per cent), need of prior instructions to appear in online examination (46, 57.5 per cent), time-consuming nature of online examination (34, 42.5 per cent), easiness of conducting online examination in any time of the academic year (54, 57.5 per cent) and money and time saving nature of this form of examination (43. 53.75 per cent). So, analysing all the statements and responses towards them, it can be concluded that teachers have positive attitude towards online examination as in all the statements the number is highest in the categories of Strongly agree and agree regarding their responses and that is why the hypothesis formulated for objective 2 is proved. Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 38 Objective 3: To know the challenges faced by students and teachers regarding online examination. To analyse this objective, a questionnaire was prepared by the investigator to know the challenges faced by teachers and students regarding online examination. Separate questions for teachers and students were incorporated and number and percentage of Yes and No responses against each question were determined and presented in Table 8. Table-9 : Challenges faced by teachers regarding online examination Sl No. Questions Yes No N % N % 1. Do you find out the real achievement of students through online examination? 56 70 24 30 2. Is online examination is cheating free? 67 83.75 13 16.25 3. Do you find Bandwidth problem to conduct online examination? 46 57.50 34 42.50 4. Do you find enough IT resources for smooth conduction of online examination? 56 70 24 30 5. Do you find it difficult to evaluate answer scripts of online examination? 58 72.50 22 27.50 6. Do you find problem to get connected with online examination appearing students? 32 40 48 60 7. Is there any problem to clear doubts of students during online examination? 50 62.50 30 37.50 8. Are you satisfied with the results of online examination of students? 54 67.50 26 32.50 9. Is it easy to conduct internal assessment of students through online mode? 56 70 24 30 10. Is it easy to take Viva-Voce and presentations of students through online mode? 49 61.25 31 31 Table 9 shows that 56 (70 per cent) teachers replied Yes and 24 (30 per cent) No regarding getting the real achievements of students through online examination. 67 (83.75 per cent) thought that online examination is cheating free and 13 (16.25 per cent) did not. 46 (57.50 per cent) teachers found Bandwidth problem to conduct online examination and 34 (42.50 per cent) have not found the same. 56 (70 per cent) teachers found enough IT resources for smooth conduction of online examination, whereas 24 (30 per cent) have not found. 58 (72.50 per cent) teachers found it difficult to evaluate the answer scripts of online examination and 22 (27.50 per cent) did not find it difficult. 32 (40 per cent) teachers found it difficult to get connected with online examination appearing students and 48 (60 per cent) did not find it difficult. 50 (62.50 per cent) teachers found it problematic to clear doubts Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 39 of students during online examination and 30 (37.50 per cent) did not find it difficult. 54 (67.50 per cent) teachers were not satisfied with the results of online examination of students and 26 (32.50 per cent) teachers were satisfied. 56 (70 per cent) teachers found it easy to conduct internal assessment of students through online mode and 24 (30 per cent) found it difficult. 49 (61.25 per cent) teachers thought that it was easy to take Viva-voce and presentations of students through online mode and 31 (38.75 per cent) teachers replied negative. Table-10 : Challenges faced by students regarding online examination Sl. No. Questions Yes No N % N % 1. Is it easy to appear in online examination in remote areas? 167 65.23 89 34.77 2. Do you find any problem to appear in online examination due to poor internet? 150 58.60 106 41.40 3. Do you have time shortage in online examination? 130 50.78 126 49.22 4. Is there any problem of clearing doubts of question papers from teachers in online examination? 159 62.11 97 37.89 5. Do you feel confident to appear in online examination? 56 21.87 200 78.13 6. Do you have lack of proper home atmosphere to appear in online examination? 100 39.06 156 60.94 7. Do you get enough instructions to appear in online examination from college authority? 126 49.22 130 50.78 8. Are you satisfied with the results of online examination? 210 82.03 46 17.97 9. Do you find any problem during online submission of answer scripts? 180 70.31 76 29.69 10. Do you concentrate in online examination? 189 73.83 67 26.17 11. Is online examination a costly affair for students? 210 82.03 46 17.97 12. Do you get connected with your teachers during online examination? 180 70.31 76 29.69 13. Do you face any problem to appear in online examination due to the lack of knowledge to use technology? 176 68.75 80 31.25 14. Do you get proper motivation to appear in online examination? 211 82.42 45 17.58 Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 40 Table 10 shows that 67 (65.23 per cent) students replied Yes and 89 (34.77 per cent) No regarding the ease of appearing in online examinations in remote areas. 150 (83.75 per cent) found problems appearing in online examinations due to poor internet and 106 (58.60 per cent) did not. 130 (50.78 per cent) time shortages in online examinations, and 126 (49.22 per cent) had not found the same. 159 (62.11 per cent) had problems clearing doubts about question papers from teachers in online examinations, whereas 97 (37.89 per cent) did not. 56 (21.87 per cent) replied Yes regarding feeling confident to appear in an online examination, and 200 (78.13 per cent) replied negative. Regarding the lack of a proper home atmosphere to appear in the online examination,100 (39.06 per cent) replied Yes 156 (60.94 per cent) replied No. 126 (49.22 per cent) got enough instructions to appear in the online examination from college authorities and 130 (50.78 per cent) did not find it difficult. 210 (82.03per cent) students were satisfied with the results of the online examination, and 46 (17.97 per cent) replied No. 180 (70.31 per cent) students found a problem during the online submission of answer scripts and 76 (29.69 per cent) students replied that No. 189 (73.83 per cent) students replied Yes regarding concentrating in online examination and 67 (26.17 per cent) replied No. 210 (82.03 per cent) replied Yes regarding whether online examination a costly affair for students and 46 (17.97 per cent) replied negatively. 180 (70.31 per cent) students replied Yes regarding getting connected with teachers during online examinations and 76 (29.69 per cent) replied No. 176 (68.75 per cent) students replied Yes regarding facing any problem appearing in online examinations due to the lack of knowledge to use technology and 80 (31.25 per cent) replied No. Conclusion and suggestions The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal living styles of all categories of people. From business to marketing, health practices to hygiene, celebrations to public gatherings, all these have experienced a changed outlook. People in every respect have to face depression, anxiety, and tensions etc, that cause mental disturbances. The students and teachers are the biggest victims as they are involved in the teaching-learning process. But the fact is that we have to face reality and there is no way out. Despite having so many difficulties, we have to take online education as an alternative way to carry on our teaching and learning. If so happens, then there will be very little mental tension to take our teaching-learning process even in the time of the pandemic. But, for this, the need of the hour is to redesign the entire process to cope up with online education. The first and foremost thing is to train our students and teachers for online learning. They should be trained enough to appear and to evaluate students. For students who will appear in the online examination should be given mock practices before the final examination. Various educational institutions release videos including instructions for students on how to give online examinations right from logging in to submitting papers online. Similarly, such practices for teachers to check the examination papers online and give marks, grades etc, will be of great use. The online examination can be conducted by including both multiple- choice questions and open-ended questions. Especially for the lower grade students, MCQs are very helpful. For reading comprehension, spelling test etc., online platform like ZOOM is very helpful. Indian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2024 41 Poor network is a great issue for most of the students in remote areas. The students, in due course of time are unable to submit their answer scripts online. In such cases, there should be a gap of time between writing the answers and submitting papers. Moreover, there should be an alternative way to submit the papers both online and offline submission of hardcopies in the respective educational institutions. The educational institutions themselves should open helpline numbers to help students especially during the time of submitting online papers. Due care should be taken so that every possible instruction can be given in that direction. (Acknowledgements: The author acknowledges all the sample students and teachers for providing the necessary information and data. The authorities of the visiting educational institutions for giving permission to collect data also need special mention. The author also likes to acknowledge the authors of various literature which were reviewed for writing the research article.) References Akcil, U., Altinay, Z., & Altinay, F. (2016). 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