KARACHI: Toppers oppose system of composite examination
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 19: Speaking at the ceremony organised for the announcement of the results of HSC part-II (Class XII) Commerce (regular and private) annual examination, 2006, the chairman of the Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi,, Prof Iftikhar H Zaidi, on Thursday said that efforts were being made towards the improvement of the present style of question papers and conduct of examination.
He admitted that there had been some delay on the part of the board in declaring the Commerce part-II results, which could be attributed to some changes undertaken for improving the existing system of coding the scripts and ensuring more transparency.
Mr Zaidi informed the gathering that the board had allocated a sum of Rs1 million for research works, training and seminars on examination related subjects for the ongoing financial year. He congratulated the position holders and hoped that they and other successful candidates should also avail some scholarships offered by the government and other agencies.
The controller of examination, Prof Abdul Aziz, said that the board wanted to continue encouraging talented students and that was why the results of private and regular students had been announced separately with two merit lists. The idea is that over all top scorers from both the groups be encouraged, he added.
Responding to questions Fahima Farooq, the first position holder among students of colleges, said that she was highly impressed with the discipline and academic activities undertaken round the year at her college and as such students did not need to have further classes at coaching centres.
She, who wants to do MBA, said that composite examinations after two year of education would increase burden on students and as a student even after clearing her intermediate examinations, she would prefer two or more separate examinations during the two year education at the SSC or HSC levels. However, she was of the view that the Cambridge system of education was more knowledge- based than our local system.
The second position holder among the regular candidates, Mohammad Usaid, said that Commercial Geography course at the HSC level needed a review, while there was a need to include more MCQs in Commerce papers. He too disliked the composite system of examination.
He noted that attendance rules needed to be implemented in a true sense and the overall academic environment should be improved to avert further decline in the standard of education. Students are taking education in commerce or allied subjects as those were job-oriented, while professionals with science degrees had limited opportunities, he expressed further.
Rabia Khatoon from the private group, who did her matriculation in Lahore, wanted to have education up to BCom and continue teaching students at home.
Rukhsana Hanif, second position holder, said that she dropped her intermediate science education as arrangements for teaching and practical classes were almost zero at her college. She was satisfied with the Commerce curricula and indicated that she had the intention to become a chartered accountant.
Mohammad Asghar, the third position holder among the private candidates, said that he dropped education after matriculation in 1999 due to domestic problems. He said that traffic jam and electricity problems did haunt the citizens of Karachi as well as students.
