Higher education, one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, would grow much faster but for the resistance to change. A survey report released by ValueNotes has found out that several university heads and academicians concede the importance of ICT, but defer adoption on the grounds that present manual processes are more than enough to meet existing demand.

Though online exams in the country are still in a nascent stage, most academicians and students have realised the advantages of going online, the report said.

Assocham estimates the size of the coaching class industry alone to be about Rs 15,000 crore, on the basis that over six lakh students attend these classes every year at an average fee of Rs 1.5 lakh.

According to the survey, Indian higher education segment has nearly 1.4 crore students. Considering both national and international entrance tests and university examinations, the market value is estimated to be in the range of Rs 410 crore to Rs 650 crore.

“At present, online assessment is used more for formative tests, which include online quizzes and discussion forums. Summative online assessments are taking longer to go online due to issues such as security and authentication,” the survey on ‘Examinations and the Role of Technology’ said.

The survey also found that the greatest impact of online assessment has been on the administrative tasks. “With almost 50 per cent of the assessment cycle consisting of administrative tasks, these should be the biggest and fastest portions to offload,” it said.

Seventy-five key academicians and over 400 students across the country participated in the survey, which was jointly conducted with online assessment firm MeritTrac. About 77 per cent of all VCs and registrars surveyed indicated they were considering introduction of online examinations in the next couple of years.

“Computer-based assessment exams highly reduces costs for both the universities and students,” S Giridharan, CEO of EdServ said. He cited the example of IIT-JEE, where coaching may cost over Rs one lakh for a year. On the other hand, internet-based training costs only a few thousand rupees because firms make one-time investment on technology and teaching materials are reusable.