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| September 20, 2005 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 15, 1426 |
Nadra to develop AKUEB exam software
LAHORE, Sept 19: The National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) will develop a software for the examination system of the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKUEB), it is learnt.
Official sources told Dawn on Monday the AKUEB had requested Nadra to provide the board with the examination processing and e-marking software for its secondary school certificate examination, to which the authority had agreed.
Initially, the AKUEB would ink an agreement with the authority for four years, they informed.
Under the e-marking system to be adopted from the next year, electronic registration of candidates, online access to various examination services and automated preparation of results will be initiated by the AKUEB.
Besides this, under the new system, the candidates cannot be identified by the marker, who will mark the digital images of the answer scripts taken and stored electronically, while each question will be marked by a separate marker.
Moreover, high-quality transparency will be maintained, scores will be electronically transported to candidate score data base and electronically scrutinized and the result sheets will be printed automatically.
Statistical analysis will be carried out through various softwares to report to the schools about individual performance of candidates even against one question.
AKUEB director Dr Thomas Christie told Dawn that Pakistan will be the first country in South Asia where the e-marking system, a UK model, had been introduced.
He said the new system would streamline the entire secondary school certificate examination system. For AKUEB, he said nothing was more important than a high-quality education system with a commitment to turn the examinations more reliable, transparent, efficient and secure.
Dr Christie said some 130 private educational institutions throughout the country had so far been registered with the board.
He said the misunderstanding about the AKUEB was created in the past by certain elements following the distribution of a controversial questionnaire by the World Health Organization (WHO) in certain schools.
He said he was willing to meet with religious scholars of all schools of thought to remove the misunderstandings regarding the board’s agenda. It had no plans to take over government examination boards which was even not practically possible, he added.
The first examination of SCC under the AKUEB is scheduled to be commenced next year.
The board has also formulated the SCC examination syllabus and started imparting training to the teachers of the institutions registered with it.
Over half of the institutions affiliated with the board are from Sindh, mostly in Karachi, while the remaining are from the other provinces.
It is learnt that over 250 private institutions across the country had sought affiliation with the AKUEB but applications of 120 were rejected for not meeting its criteria.
Under the criteria, the private institutions which have a laboratory, a library and other infrastructure are eligible for affiliation with the board.
Regarding the fee structure, the board has introduced two categories for the institutions affiliated with it; the schools which charge Rs800 and above from a student per month will have to pay Rs3,000 registration fee per student for two years. Those charging less than Rs800 will have to pay Rs1,500 per student for two years.
The board is optimistic to enrol 7,000 candidates for its first examinations in 2006. The figure is expected to reach 27,000 over the next five years which is said to be only two per cent of the total SCC candidates who appeared in the examination annually.
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