An Online Examination Management System for Geographically Dispersed Test Centres to Prevent Question Leakage: A Case Study of Bangladesh

Abstract

Aims: In some developing countries, an important challenge of the examination system is the question paper leakage. To address this problem, this research proposes a web-based secure model for examination management system that is robust to question paper leakage. The feasibility of the proposed model is then validated by a practical implementation in the context of Bangladesh, a developing country. Study Design: The proposed examination management system is a web based solution developed for online question paper uploading and then downloading from different locations. In this system, question papers are made available online to different geographical zones consisting of several examination centres, where those papers can only be downloaded after the stipulated time. Methodology: In the proposed system, user authentication is ensured by a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which is achieved by providing a digital certificate with cryptographic token, matching a traditional password and One-Time Password (OTP) sent to a specified cell phone. To enhance the security further, question papers are encrypted and can be made accessible only when the cryptographic token is plugged in.  With the use of digital certificates, question papers are also protected from any sort of tampering. The question papers are then printed in press before being sent to the examination centres. Place and Duration of the Study: A number of day-long examinations using the proposed model took place in Bangladesh. Results: The feasibility of the proposed model was validated by deploying the system in a real-life recruitment examination of one million test-takers sparsely distributed in different locations in Bangladesh. The relevant personnel involved in the examinations provided positive feedback indicating successful implementation of the system. Conclusion: The deployment of such a digital examination system is the first instance in Bangladesh. The challenges faced and the countermeasures undertaken during this practical implementation are also reported in this paper.