KU revisits admissions policy after a handful clear entry test

With less than a quarter of candidates clearing the entry tests for the Masters programme at the University of Karachi, the admissions committee has cancelled the results for four of its departments. In a first, the varsity will be accepting candidates on open merit. For other departments, the varsity has reduced the cut off for successful students.

Around 80 per cent candidates failed the entry tests conducted for admission in four departments of the varsity. The extremely low success rate witness in KU's entry tests is reflective of how badly educational activities were disrupted due to the pandemic.

Offering relief to the students, the admissions committee is now permitting admissions into the Masters programme in four of its departments under open merit policy. These four departments include, the department of commerce, department of mass communication, department of Pakistan studies and department of criminology.

Moreover, the passing marks for entry tests of two other departments - the varsity's business school and the department of public administration, have been reduced from 50 to 25.

This is the first time in KU's history that the admissions are being taken on open merit due to failure of candidates up to this level. Sources affiliated with the varsity say that over 80 per cent seats in the departments would have been left vacant if the candidates who had managed to score enough, were given admissions.

Besides, adjustments have also been made for admission in the Bachelors programmes offered by the varsity. The departments for which passing marks have been reduced to 40-45 from 50, include the department of applied chemistry and chemical technology, department of applied physics, department of education, department of environmental studies, department of petroleum technology, department of special education and department of teachers education.

Moreover, the closing percentage for the admissions under open merit has also been reduced significantly. While admission on merit last year required for the candidate to have scored at least 75 per cent marks in intermediate examinations, this year, the cut off for admission in the varsity's department of computer science has been reduced to 72 per cent.

Similarly, last year while the cut off mark was at 76 per cent in intermediate exams, in some of the departments of software engineering, this year, the cut off mark is at 73 per cent. In other departments such as the department of food and science and the department of international relations, the cut off mark has been reduced even further. From 72 per cent to 54 per cent for the former and from 75 per cent to 62 per cent for the latter.

Same is the case with business school and the department of mass communication with the cut off marks reduced from 77 per cent to 73 per cent this year and 75 per cent to 65 per cent this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2020.