Tackling new ‘subject’ matter
LAHORE:
For the past two years the Higher Education Department (HED) has failed to accept the demands of A level students, who have requested that their entry test for admission to engineering institutions be prepared from the syllabus of their subject combination rather than the FSc syllabus.
The students contend that if the HED directed relevant authorities to prepare the admission test for engineering institutions from the A level syllabus then more A level students are likely to make it to the engineering institutions of the province.
The directors and regional directors of various schools/colleges often conduct meetings to discuss issues pertaining to O and A level students, some directors have confirmed that they have been sending their suggestions to the HED for the past two years but their concerns have not been addressed.
British Council coordinators who deal with the Cambridge International Examination (CIE) board and directors and regional directors of institutions which conduct CIE system exams have conducted regular meetings on the subject but have not received a favourable response from the HED after sending in several requests. British Council coordinator Azhar Ali told The Express Tribune that last year the University of Health Science (UHS) had accepted their recommendations and given a separate entry test for A level students in which question papers were prepared from the A level syllabus. Ali said that they had been asking the HED secretary to direct the UET, which conducted entry tests for admission in several engineering institutions, to conduct separate entry tests to A level students in which question papers should be prepared from the relevant syllabus. “A level students are failing the entry tests because the question papers are almost entirely out of the courses they never studied,” he said.
Ali said that three years ago the UET conducted entry tests for both medical and engineering students and the ratio of passing marks for A level students was around one to two percent because the papers had been developed from the FSc syllabus. He said that last year when the UHS conducted a separate entry test for medical colleges and prepared separate question papers for FSc and A level, the ratio of passing marks for A level students shot up from one percent to five percent.
“These are two completely different marking systems. The FSc marking system is based on a subjective format and the A level student has to answer several objective questions, struggling for each mark. The FSc system rewards rote learning whereas the A-level format is different,” he said.
Last year approximately 2,500 out of total 25,000 A level students participated in UET’s entry test and only 200 students passed. Hardly a few dozen succeeded in getting admission in various engineering institutions. UET’s Dean of Mechanical Engineering, who is the coordinator of the entry test Dr Saleem Tabassum said that they had not received any direction from the HED in this regard.
HED secretary Ahad Cheema was unavailable for comment.
Published in the Express Tribune, July 14th, 2010.
For the past two years the Higher Education Department (HED) has failed to accept the demands of A level students, who have requested that their entry test for admission to engineering institutions be prepared from the syllabus of their subject combination rather than the FSc syllabus.
The students contend that if the HED directed relevant authorities to prepare the admission test for engineering institutions from the A level syllabus then more A level students are likely to make it to the engineering institutions of the province.
The directors and regional directors of various schools/colleges often conduct meetings to discuss issues pertaining to O and A level students, some directors have confirmed that they have been sending their suggestions to the HED for the past two years but their concerns have not been addressed.
British Council coordinators who deal with the Cambridge International Examination (CIE) board and directors and regional directors of institutions which conduct CIE system exams have conducted regular meetings on the subject but have not received a favourable response from the HED after sending in several requests. British Council coordinator Azhar Ali told The Express Tribune that last year the University of Health Science (UHS) had accepted their recommendations and given a separate entry test for A level students in which question papers were prepared from the A level syllabus. Ali said that they had been asking the HED secretary to direct the UET, which conducted entry tests for admission in several engineering institutions, to conduct separate entry tests to A level students in which question papers should be prepared from the relevant syllabus. “A level students are failing the entry tests because the question papers are almost entirely out of the courses they never studied,” he said.
Ali said that three years ago the UET conducted entry tests for both medical and engineering students and the ratio of passing marks for A level students was around one to two percent because the papers had been developed from the FSc syllabus. He said that last year when the UHS conducted a separate entry test for medical colleges and prepared separate question papers for FSc and A level, the ratio of passing marks for A level students shot up from one percent to five percent.
“These are two completely different marking systems. The FSc marking system is based on a subjective format and the A level student has to answer several objective questions, struggling for each mark. The FSc system rewards rote learning whereas the A-level format is different,” he said.
Last year approximately 2,500 out of total 25,000 A level students participated in UET’s entry test and only 200 students passed. Hardly a few dozen succeeded in getting admission in various engineering institutions. UET’s Dean of Mechanical Engineering, who is the coordinator of the entry test Dr Saleem Tabassum said that they had not received any direction from the HED in this regard.
HED secretary Ahad Cheema was unavailable for comment.
Published in the Express Tribune, July 14th, 2010.