Design of an Online Examination System for a Polytechnic in Ogun State

Conducting paper-based examinations at a polytechnic in Ogun State is resource-intensive, exposes institutions to malpractice risks, and delays result processing. This study describes the design and implementation of an online examination management system for a polytechnic in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. The system was built using ASP.NET Core (C#) with a SQL Server database and supports examination timetable management, candidate registration, question bank administration, randomised question delivery, real-time anti-cheating monitoring (browser lockdown and question randomisation), and automated marking for objective questions. The development process used the Waterfall model with a dedicated quality assurance phase. Requirements were gathered through interviews with the polytechnic's examination office staff and academic board representatives. The question bank module was tested with 200 questions across six subject categories, and the randomisation engine was statistically validated to ensure even topic coverage per candidate. A pilot examination was conducted with 350 students across three departments, with results declared within 45 minutes of completion. System availability during the pilot was 99.4 percent. Post-examination surveys of students showed 78 percent preferred the system to paper examinations. Invigilators reported a perceived 60 percent reduction in malpractice incidence compared to conventional examinations. Recommendations include internet reliability improvements and provision for offline fallback in examination centres with unreliable connectivity.

Keywords: online examination system, polytechnic, Ogun State, anti-cheating, automated grading