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Introduction: Covid-19 pandemic has instigated changes in the teaching and assessment practices of institutions in many parts of the world, resulting not only in online teaching but also in online assessments. The present study analyzes the perceptions of students regarding the first online assessments conducted at a medical college in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: This Mixed method cross-sectional study was conducted in Wah Medical College, National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Rawalpindi, Pakistan from July to November 2020. The questionnaire was developed after the collaboration of the authors and a review of the pertinent literature on online examinations. Universal sampling was done and all students of WMC were invited to participate in the study. Data collection was done by google forms and analysis was performed on SPSS. Results: Students from all five years of the MBBS program participated almost equally in the study. Students of 1st, 3rd and 4th year were not contented with their performance in online exams whereas students of 2nd and 5th year were satisfied. Most students considered technological issues as a basis for their poor performance and proposed technical training before online exams. They also provided suggestions related to the improvement of examination formats and tools. Conclusion: The majority of the students found the online assessment more effective and helpful in improving their performance in exams. Student perceptions provided valuable insights for improving the online examinations system at Wah Medical College.

Aims: Pakistan is facing a severe water shortage and the situation is further aggravated due to elevated temperature, leading to drastic yield reduction of quinoa. Hence, there is a dire need to maintain or increase agricultural production by utilizing sustainable methods of production to tackle changing climate. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a crop, recognized by United Nations due to its nutritional and health benefits. Methodology: Therefore, a field study was carried out to evaluate the drought tolerance of quinoa through soil application of potassium (K) and boron (B) under Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with a split-split plot arrangement and three replications. The crop was sown on November 06, 2021, using a seed rate of 8 kg ha-1 on 75 cm apart ridges with hand dibbling maintaining plant to plant distance of 120 cm. The experiment contained the following treatments; soil application of K at 0, 50, and 75 kg K2O ha-1 and B (H3BO3) at 0, 6 kg ha-1 in well-watered and drought-induced experimental units. Results: Data related to crop physiological response and yield attributes were recorded using standard procedures and protocols.  Quinoa performance decreased under drought stress but it was improved by potassium (K) supplementation at 75 kg K2O ha-1. Supplementation of K improved the seed yield of quinoa in drought-stressed conditions up to 41% and was also found economically viable because the value of benefit cost ratio was 2.2 in drought conditions as compared to the respective control (1.65). Conclusion: Drought is an environmental factor that negatively interferes with crop growth and yield. So application of potassium and boron can enhance drought tolerance of quinoa through soil application.

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