Making Clear : ‘NTS tests not mandatory for admission’

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Tuesday clarified that universities were under no obligation to hold the graduate assessment test (GAT) through the National Testing Service (NTS). An HEC official said universities had been directed to conduct their own tests for admission into BS, MS, MPhil and PhD programmes. The clarification came after students of various universities protested against what they said was HEC’s requirement for candidates to pass tests conducted by the NTS, which is a private entity. Students of Riphah International University and other private varsities said they had already passed an entrance test conducted by the university for admission into MPhil programmes but now the varsity was being asked by the HEC to enroll only those students who had passed the NTS test.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2015.