NED entry test

Raising questions about the merit criteria adopted by Sindh's education boards

The standard of education in the country has been undergoing a steady fall. And there are cogent reasons for this state of affairs. Most students have a habit of truancy, have no truck with books and classroom teaching, and their only aim is to attain paper degrees by fair means or foul. A great majority of them shamelessly use unfair means, depend entirely on notes and keys, and the teachers watch their activities as helpless spectators. All this has made education a farce. This then is hardly surprising that when such students are put through a sterner test, they invariably fail. A case in point is a recent entry test of NED University of Engineering and Technology. Numerous science students who scored high marks in the intermediate examinations conducted by the education boards in Sindh failed the test, according to a report published in this paper. This has raised questions about the merit criteria adopted by Sindh's education boards.

The university's admission test was held recently, with students who had passed exams organised by education boards operating under the Sindh government, the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, the Aga Khan University Examination Board, and the Cambridge Assessment International Education appearing for entry in the university. A majority of them were pre-engineering students. As per data available with this newspaper, these candidates numbered 9,290, of whom 5,029, or 54%, passed the admission test with at least 50% marks each. Among them were 210 of 802 students, a mere 26%, who had sat the test after clearing intermediate examinations under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad (BISEH). The remaining 74% who appeared for the tests after passing exams under the BISEH failed. Not much different were the results of those students who had passed their exams under education boards of Sukkur and Larkana.

One can only express anguish at this dismal showing.