MORE than 8,000 candidates took part in Karachi`s NED University of Engineering and Technology entry test. The NED is a premier engineering education institute of Pakistan.
Hundreds of A and A-one grade students from the interior of Sindh failed the entry test. All questions in the entry test are based on Sindh Textbook Board textbooks for intermediate and there is no negative marking. Still only 18pc candidates from the Larkana Board could pass the test. Some of the failing candidates were among the top 10 scorers in the intermediate exams.
On the other hand, candidates with an A-Level certificate from Cambridge University (Cambridge International Examinations) performed well as 97pc of these candidates were successful. The second most successful group were those with an HSSC certificate from Aga Khan University Examination Board with 89pc of their candidates passing the test. The success rate of candidates from Karachi Intermediate Board and Federal Board was approximately 62 per cent.
It seems that in the interior Sindh there is a race for gaining higher scores in board examinations and the hollowness of these scores is exposed when candidates are tested for their competence.
The best way to remedy this problem would be for the Sindh education authorities to strive to bring the standard of education, particularly in the interior, at par with that of the Cambridge system.
