Ahmedabad: Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has decided to discontinue its Problem-Based Learning (PBL) portal, which was introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP) to evaluate whether students were acquiring practical knowledge alongside theoretical learning. The move comes after repeated complaints from students and faculty members over technical and operational issues on the platform.The PBL system was designed to give students practical exposure by requiring faculty members to upload three problems at the end of every semester. Students were expected to access the problems online and submit their solutions through the portal, after which faculty members would evaluate the responses and award marks through the system.The initiative aimed to assess students‘ ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-life situations and provide a structured framework for evaluating problem-solving skills.However, sources said faculty members frequently encountered difficulties in making uploaded problems visible to students. They also faced challenges in accessing solutions submitted through the portal. In several cases, queries posted by students could not be viewed or responded to by the concerned faculty members.The persistent technical issues reportedly led to repeated representations from both students and teachers, prompting opposition to the system.University officials said complaints indicated that students were often required to perform the same work twice, creating an additional academic burden.With the PBL portal being withdrawn, student assessments will once again be conducted through assignments and offline or face-to-face problem-solving exercises, with marks awarded based on performance.
