Reimagining exams in higher education

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In recent years, the steady decline in the quality of higher education in Pakistan has become a matter of grave concern. While many factors, like underfunded institutions, outdated curricula and politicised administration, contribute to this erosion, one silent but significant culprit is often ignored: the way we assess our students. If education is the backbone of a nation, then assessments are its nervous system. And right now, that system is deeply broken.

The rot begins with the very structure of our examinations. In a growing number of universities, assessments have been reduced to online multiple-choice quizzes, conducted through cellphones, with open internet access and no meaningful monitoring in place.

The implications are devastating. When students realise they can pass courses through search engines, group chats or AI tools, they have little reason to engage deeply with the material. The incentive to develop conceptual clarity, analytical reasoning or technical competence disappears. This breeds not only intellectual laziness but also a culture of dishonesty that will eventually seep into the professional realm.

Worse still, this farcical assessment culture creates a damaging illusion of competence. Students score high on exams, transcripts look impressive and universities boast pass rates, but beneath this surface lies a hollow core. Graduates walk out of university gates, lacking both hard skills and ethical grounding. In effect, our assessment systems are producing confident mediocrity at scale.

It must be stressed that MCQs, in and of themselves, are not the enemy. When designed thoughtfully and used formatively — in classroom settings, to identify knowledge gaps or stimulate discussion — they can be valuable tools. But when MCQs become the sole or dominant mode of evaluating student competence, the very idea of higher education is cheapened. They test recognition, not understanding and selection, not synthesis.

Part of the problem is that assessments in Pakistan have become ritualistic. Exams are seen as boxes to tick, not milestones of intellectual development. There is no serious effort to make them reflective of real learning outcomes. Even the concept of "formative assessment" — assessments that help shape learning rather than just measure it — remains alien to most instructors and institutions.

So where do we go from here? First, we must reimagine assessment as a developmental tool rather than a filtering mechanism. Universities should integrate a richer mix of assessment types: case studies, research projects, oral defences, reflective essays, and simulations that mirror real-world complexity. These not only test knowledge but also cultivate critical thinking, communication skills and ethical decision-making.

Second, faculty needs training. Most teachers in Pakistani universities have never been formally taught how to design robust assessments. Investing in faculty development — particularly around learning outcomes, Bloom's taxonomy and assessment design — is essential if we are to restore credibility to academic evaluations.

Third, integrity must be restored. Cheating has become so normalised in some institutions that it is shrugged off as a cultural reality. This cannot continue. Universities must deploy secure platforms, proctoring systems, randomised question banks and codes of conduct with enforceable penalties to safeguard the value of their degrees.

Fourth, assessments must be made more transparent and accountable. Peer review of exam papers, moderation committees and student feedback loops can ensure that exams are fair, challenging and aligned with course objectives. This is particularly critical in restoring student trust in the educational process.

Finally, assessments must be embedded within a larger ecosystem of learning. They should drive pedagogical innovation, motivate students to engage meaningfully with content and guide institutions to revisit what they teach and how they teach it.

At its best, an exam is not a threat but an opportunity — a mirror that reflects not just what a student knows but what they are becoming. In Pakistan, we urgently need to reclaim this spirit. If we can fix our exams, we might fix the future through quality education!