There was a time when passing intermediate/HSC (High School Certificate) with good grades could get you into a public university. Not any more. The standard of testing at HSC level is presumed to have fallen so low that not even public universities are accepting candidates on sole basis of passing HSC exams. The requirement of a separate entrance test in addition to passing HSC exams has now become a de-facto requirement by public universities in Pakistan.
In most universities, HSC grades still get some weightage when calculating the total acceptance criteria but a good grade in HSC alone is not sufficient.
My question is what is the purpose of spending so much time, money and effort on conducting HSC exams? Now a student has to do hardwork in HSC exams and once those exams are over, they have to prepare again for entrance exams to several universities they intend to apply. Don’t you think it is an added and unnecessary burden on students to pass all these extra entrance exams?
A counter argument can be made that if a student prepares for HSC exams in letter and spirit i.e. by understanding the concepts and not by ‘rattafication’ (memorizing) then he/she can pass any entrance exam. That is true and I agree with that argument. But then my counter argument would be to improve on testing method at HSC level. Make all HSC exams MCQ type where ‘rattafication’ will not help. Today the criteria of passing HSC exams is memorizing long descriptive answers, which do no help a candidate in any entrance exam.
The situation has now reached a point where there is a perception that those universities which do not conduct entrance test are below standard. Therefore 2nd or 3rd-tier public universities and colleges are also in the business of conducting their own Entrance exams because they don’t want to appear as having lower acceptance criteria.
For the past few years I’ve also noticed a trend of commercialization and politization of Entrance exams. Whole new institutions of private coaching have sprung up across Pakistan which guarantee you success in all kinds of entrance exams. I’ve also noticed the trend where student wings of notorious political parties conduct practise/mock exams for candidates to public universities. One reason that prompted me to write this post was that today I even saw a statement from a political leader where he has demanded to standardize the university entrance exams all over Pakistan. Good demand, but my point is why don’t we reform the insitution of HSC boards and exams instead of creating more and more roadblocks for students.
Below I want to summarize few arguments for and against Entrance Test to the public universities.
Arguments For Entry Exams to Universities:
1. HSC exams and their marking criteria are not consistent across the country. HSC results differ by huge margin from board to board and region to region.
2. HSC exams are prone to corruption and cheating.
3. HSC exams test a person’s memory and not concepts. e.g. descriptive questions on which marking is also qualitative (read as “depends on the mood of an examiner”) and not quantitative.
4. Centralized exams are a worldwide norm e.g. SAT, GRE, GMAT etc scores have weightage when admission is sought to Universities in the Western Hemisphere.
5. If a student goes through HSC curriculum by learning concepts then he/she should be able to pass all entry exams with minimum effort.
Arguments Against Entry Exams to Universities:
1. It renders the whole institution of Intermediate (HSC) boards country-wide useless and meaningless. I would even go as far as saying that it is like wasting 2 years of students.
2. Monetary burden on students who pay examination fees at HSC boards and then for individual entry exams at universities. Conducting entrance exams has almost become means for extra income for the universities.
3. Psychological burden on students. At first the students have to do two years of hard study at HSC level only to know before hand that it alone won’t be enough to get them into a university.
I concede that my arguments against entrance Exams are lesser in number than those which are for entrance exams. But I believe my ‘against’ arguments have more weight. If I were a student going thorugh two years of rigorous HSC Studies, I want that exercise to be worthy enough to atleast get me to next level of education.
I would be willing to prepare for a different (reformed) type of HSC testing where my concepts are tested and not my memory. I will be happily going through this 2 year of hardwork, if I know it is worth something.
The photo above shows a self assessment test being conducted by a student wing of a political party in Hyderabad. This is for preparing students for the entrance test to Sindh University, Jamshoro.
To conclude this post I want to say that in my opinion HSC boards and their exams should be reformed so that their results are worthy of admissions to public universities. Entry exams conducted by public universities on their own should be abolished.
What do you think?
Photo Credits: Associated Press of Pakistan
The HSC level needs reform, badly. My dad teaches electrical and computer engineering in Lahore (currently at UCP, previously at Comsats and Opstec). He complains often about how incoming freshman are simply not prepared for the course material: they’re terrible at mathematics, and English. In general, they can’t reason — think critically.
The problem’s at the primary level, too. My dad’s younger brother, who’s retired, tutors a few kids from his neighborhood on mathematics for free. They’re kids in the 1st to 5th grades, and they’re not learning anything at their public schools. It’s a mess.
Reading this article reminded me of a news item I’d seen on TV about the Turkish system. They, too, make students take an exam after high school: http://bit.ly/3hKjEL
“At the end of high school, following the 12th grade, students take a High School Finishing Examination and they are required to pass this in order to take the
Let’s go back to 1996. I had passed my FSc and boasted off my 891/1100 marks standing first among the students who could contend me on reserved quota. Boards after boards declared their results but no mama’s boy could pose any threat for me. So I prepared myself for medical education.
One day, I was listening folk songs on my low-priced and old fashioned transister when a classfellow of mine came and said: “You know Kharow, your senior Iftikhar who had got 786/1100 marks last year?”
“Yes, but why” was my reply.
He has recollected 933/1100 marks from a board “Somewhere in the Interior Sindh”. I said, he can’t, and even if he did I can’t fight for my right, better I content on the second and last seat.
He said, two other seniors have also improved their marks from as low as 600 and some to above 900. Then he added “Somewhere From Interior Sindh”.
Curious about the phrase “Interior Sindh” I asked him why he was so concerned about this.
He said he is also suffering from this illness, “Boards of Interior Sindh is manufacturing mama’s sons (Mai Ka Lal) for us.”
We both were stunned and gave away our effort, but a week later, I saw him running towards my home waving a newspaper and shouted from a furlong.
Irsh!! Entry test has been made a compulsory factor in admissions to professional colleges, look and read yourself. Also Agha Khan University rather any board of “Somewhere Interior Sindh” will conduct it. Now I am sure Irsh once upon a time we will be doctors and emgimeers.
Now I am FCPS-ENT and he is DE-PTCL.
I aggree entry test is necessory, and it is just 40% of the total merit.
Yes, there should be entrance exams for universities to give a second chance to those students who could not memorize all in FSc. Moreover, the country that has the best education in the world, the universites require a test.
But……. the exams currently being held and used are a means to get admission for those students that did not get good marks and have a safarish. These exam results can be manupulated easily by the conductiing university to get “safarshis” or “donating” students in.
There is a solution….. SATs. Get SATs manditory for all universities. The problem… high fee for SAT. Solution… need to think about middle ground or where there is a will there is a way… I am sure a solution can be found.
Government has taken a step to standardize this testing procedure by establishing NTS (National Testing Service). I have learned that their standard is quite competitive worldwide.
http://www.nts.org.pk/
But this is a pitty that except a very few, non other university accepts the results from NTS.
Entrance Exams for Universities: Yes.
The envorinment that we go through during HSC studies is sometimes just pathetic. Our HSC curriculum needs to be revisted so that it can also prepare us for SAT exams.