|
|
|
| December 4, 2005 | Sunday | Ziqa’ad 1, 1426 |
Body formed to standardize exam system
LAHORE, Dec 3: The Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) has been set up to standardize the annual examination system from primary to intermediate level in the province. Approval for the constitution of the commission was given at a meeting presided over by Punjab Education Minister Imran Masood here on Saturday.
The PEC will prepare the examination papers of class V, VIII, X and intermediate, besides arranging for the marking of answer sheets for all districts and the eight intermediate and secondary education boards in the province.
The commission will prepare the papers of annual examinations of class V and VIII from 2006, and subsequently for matriculation and intermediate in 2007.
The rationale of setting up of the commission is also to streamline the annual examination system, making it more credible by introducing uniformity and suggesting policies for the future in this regard.
Officials told Dawn that the first chief executive of the commission would be an Australian, to be hired for one year on contract basis. They said that he would also train the staff in this regard. All examination boards would provide logistic support to the PEC.
They said under the existing system, the question papers were prepared a couple of weeks before the examinations vis-a-vis the papers of the Ordinary and Advanced (O/A) level examinations which took at least a year to prepare.
Around two million candidates annually appear in the primary and elementary examinations in the province, while as many appear in the secondary school certificate and higher secondary school certificate (FA/FSc) examinations every year under intermediate and secondary education boards.
Under the existing system, the primary and elementary annual examinations are held at district level through executive district officers (education). The question papers and examination results are also prepared at the district level which reportedly results in lack of uniformity in the system.
The BISEs take matriculation and intermediate examinations under one schedule, however, question papers are prepared separately.
Meanwhile, the meeting also decided that from 2006 the annual examinations of class V and VIII, matriculation and intermediate would be held in April, May and June, respectively.
The decision to start academic year from September will be finalized in the education ministers’ meeting this month.
The meeting also approved the proposal of giving a special chance to the students who had passed their matriculation with Grade F in 2004, but could not improve the division by now and in the meantime they had done their intermediate. They can now appear in the matriculation examination, 2006.
|
|
|
|
