LAHORE, May 24: Governor Khalid Maqbool has called a meeting of the vice-chancellors of the public-sector universities in Punjab on June 4 to discuss the issue of holding uniform entrance test by the National Testing Service for admission to undergraduate classes.

Earlier at a meeting on Feb 1 last, the governor had directed the vice-chancellors to process their admissions after the conduct of uniform entrance test by the NTS. Consequently, the service advertised that it would hold a uniform entrance test for 22 universities in Pakistan simultaneously on July 15.

On Wednesday, the Punjab law department commented that the admissions to the public-sector universities through entrance tests by the NTS would be without any legal effect unless each varsity made requisite amendments to its admission regulations.

The law department said the admission to various courses in the public-sector universities was to be regulated under the admission regulations of each university framed in accordance with the provisions of their respective laws. It said the provisions of a university law provided that admission regulations might be prepared and proposed by the academic council (of a university) and approved by its syndicate.

“Making the admissions contingent or conditional with the appearance in the NTS test without incorporating corresponding amendments to the admission regulations of the universities will not be in accordance with laws governing affairs of these universities,” the law department observed.

Punjab University admission committee chairman Dr Dil Muhammad Malik said the body, after holding a meeting, had already recommended to the vice-chancellor that a uniform entrance test should be conducted by the NTS for admissions to all classes.

Dr Malik, who is also dean faculty of law and law college principal, said the committee’s recommendations would become admission rules as soon as the vice-chancellor passed orders in anticipation of the approval by the syndicate. The committee, he said, had forwarded its recommendations to the vice-chancellor about two weeks ago.

He said he was not sure whether the VC had issued orders in this regard or not as he had just returned from a visit abroad. PU VC Arshad Mahmood was not available for comments.

Government College University vice-chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Aftab said the institution had yet to prepare admission rules and statutes for holding entrance test by the NTS.

He said the governor had called a meeting of VCs of all the public-sector universities to discuss the issue on June 4.

Answering a question about the mess that was created during the entrance test for admission to some selected departments of the Punjab University last year, Prof Aftab said it would be a great challenge for the NTS to hold entrance test for 22 universities all over the country.

Lahore College for Women University vice-chancellor Prof Dr Bushra Mateen also admitted that the university had so far not framed any new admission rules and statutes for entrance test by the NTS.

“The university had received an order from the Governor’s House that the next year admissions would be processed after a uniform entrance by the NTS. So we thought that it was an order and the university would comply with it accordingly,” she said.

Now in the scenario of the Punjab law department’s opinion, Prof Mateen said the university would be required to frame new admission rules and statutes and get those approved from the syndicate.

Punjab Education Department’s Additional Secretary (Academics) Akram Chaudhry agreed that the statutory bodies of varsities could not be bypassed by a single executive order. He said all the public-sector universities would be required to amend admission rules and incorporate the provision of holding entrance test before processing the admissions to different classes.

Mr Chaudhry said the law department had given its comment on the invitation of the education department which might be the follow-up of Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi’s meeting with the vice-chancellors on the entrance test issue.

He said the chief minister had asked the VCs about the pros and cons of the decision of holding uniform entrance test for admission to all the public-sector universities in Punjab.

NTS director Dr Haroon Rasheed said he had called at the Governor’s House and sought an advice on the law department’s comment. “Though I did not receive any advice from the governor, the NTS is preparing itself to hold entrance test from July 15 as scheduled”.

Dr Rasheed said the candidates having at least 40 per cent marks in their FA/FSc examination would be eligible to sit for the entrance test. Each candidate would be required to obtain a minimum of 50 per cent marks for qualifying the test.

The merit of each candidate would be determined on the basis of 30 per cent weightage of the entrance test and 70 per cent of the marks obtained in the intermediate examination.

The candidates, who would appear for the NTS entrance test, would be eligible to get admission to a public-sector university according to his or her merit, he concluded.