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Admission controversies
Lahore, Sep 3: Entry tests for
admission to Punjab's public sector colleges and universities are an annual
topic of discussion around this time of the year. And almost every season of
debate, since the introduction of these tests in 1997-1999, has involved the
courts. This time round, the Lahore High Court has restrained the Punjab
University from conducting an entry test for 18 students aspiring to obtain
admission in the MSc programme in the botany and zoology departments. These
students had passed their BSc Honours examination from the same departments and
were being asked to take the entry tests for admission to the higher level. The
court declared that this practice was discriminatory as some other departments
falling under the same faculty of the university were allowing admissions to
their internal students without the tests.
The case raises two important
points. First, the absence of a uniform admission policy and, secondly, the lack
of trust in the examination system. Even within Punjab University, each
department devises its own admission criteria which, as the case above shows,
sometimes vary for internal and external students. Not only that, out of 64
departments of the university, six require an entry test conducted by the
National Testing Service while the rest hold their own tests. Given the variety
of subjects being taught at the university, devising a uniform test for all of
them may be difficult. But the same principle should govern the admission policy
of all departments.Testing students' abilities and aptitudes before admissions
is certainly required but this is what examinations are conducted for. If they
don't allow colleges and universities to select the most suitable students, what
are they there for? True, our examination system encourages rote learning and
leaves a lot of room for the employment of foul means for getting through.
Introducing entry tests rather than correcting the flaws in the examination
system is like treating the symptoms and allowing the disease to continue
wreaking havoc. Before a comprehensive reform of the education system is
undertaken, such anomalies will remain open to challenge and will have to be
addressed as best as the university can. Dawn
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Education News| Updated: 09 Jan, 2009 |
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