MUMBAI: Reform in the University examination system will be the topmost priority for the new Vice-Chancellor of the 154-year-old University of Mumbai, Dr Rajan Welukar.

“Our first job is to reform the examination system by having a professional testing and assessment process,” Welukar said on the occasion of the University’s Foundation marked by tree plantation at the Kalina (Vidyanagari) campus last week.

Since the University is suffering from enormous delays in assessing examination papers and also announcing results, which affects students, “the reform in examination system is very crucial,” he said. “Once the professionally testing assessment is in place after training the teachers and non-teaching staff in all respects, the students will no longer suffer,” Welukar said.

The current form of testing and assessment system for the three lakh students spread over 600 colleges with 25 lakh papers to correct, has not given the desired results. So, it was necessary to reform the examination system of the university, Welukar said.

Next on Welukar’s to-do list is decentralisation of the administrative processes through technological intervention and forming sub-campuses of the University, which is currently spread in three campuses – at Fort in South Mumbai, Kalina in North west Mumbai and Ratnagiri in Konkan region of Maharashtra.

Creating research culture is another step, which the new Vice-Chancellor is looking for and “this required technological access and interconnecting libraries and resource and guides across the country,” he said.

 “So, collaboration with other Indian and foreign universities will be taken up gradually, so that the students and faculty benefit through exchange programmes,” he said.