Even the right measures, if not implemented properly, seldom serve the intended purpose: just the case with internal assessment at Masters Level at Tribhuvan University. The yearly assessment examination, which carries 20 marks for each subject, has not helped most students learn research activities and prepare for their final examinations. Only a very few students and teachers have taken this assessment seriously. So high marks are often awarded to even those students who have not done hard work. Internal assessment was introduced to encourage students to study and to be up to date with their courses and attend college regularly. Now the original purpose has been defeated. It has now become a mere vehicle for inflating the marks of those who have done poorly in their examinations.

Faculty members are under pressure to award good marks in internal exams, irrespective of students’ performance. There is also no uniformity between TU departments on assessment marks. The present marking system has put the veracity of marks on the final transcripts in doubt. Assessment exams under which most students submit work done by others is not the right method to weight a student’s true capabilities. The system is not working as TU fails to enforce strict guidelines to regulate internal exams. If something is doing more harm than good, the only wise recourse is to do away with it.