LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly’s Special Committee has strongly recommended the provincial government to reduce weightage for entrance tests for medical and engineering colleges admission test (MCAT & ECAT) to 10 per cent – from the academic year 2018.

The committee has found no rationale behind attaching ‘unrealistic’ weightage of 50pc to MCAT and 30pc to ECAT. “Maximum weightage to MCAT and ECAT in final merit list must not be above 10 per cent,” the committee decided unanimously.

It recommended that the weightage for FSc/ HSSC/ Intermediate/ equivalent examination results should be fixed at 70pc, while the matriculation and equivalent examination results should carry 20pc weightage – for admission to medical and engineering colleges and varsities from the next academic year.

The committee recommended the Punjab government to ensure holding of MCAT and ECAT on two consecutive Sundays, which fall within 15 days of the last theory paper of any eligible intermediate group in the province.

The committee did not touch the already held ECAT and re-scheduled MCAT entrance test for Oct 29 for admission to medical and engineering institutions this year.

Recommends 70pc weightage for FSc, 20pc for matric from next academic year

The special committee headed by Punjab Assembly Standing Committee on Education Chairman Qamarul Islam Raja has laid its report on the floor of the house. The committee has drawn its recommendations after detailed deliberations with different stakeholders including government officers, academicians, vice chancellors, health and higher education department administrative secretaries and chairman Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education.

Recognising that entrance test is a complex issue having social, financial, academic, legal and human aspects, the committee discussed as to what were the circumstances that led to introduction of entrance test system in 1997 in Punjab and do these circumstances still exist.

The committee unanimously agreed with the Punjab higher education department and Lahore BISE chairman’s view that the circumstances, which led to introduction of entrance test 20 years back, were non-existent now. The education department asserted that all Punjab education boards had successfully evolved the examination system to a foolproof and [highly] credible level by eliminating [all practices of] foul play, including booti mafia.

Considering standard practices across the globe, the committee however, advised continuing with the entrance tests with minimum weightage – as a second tier of quality assurance along with the BISE results.

Dubbing the existing weightage allocation to medical and engineering tests as devoid of any logic, the committee said, “These percentages were perhaps arbitrarily decided without any valid argument”.

About entrance test preparation academies’ ‘exploitative’ role, committee chairman Mr Raja reported that neither health nor higher education department could come up with any legal paraphernalia or regulatory regime so as to justify their operation.

Lashing out at the academy ‘mafia’, the report says, “The committee unanimously expressed its grave concern that lakhs of students constituting the cream of intermediate high achievers are being subjected to acute mental torture. Some high achievers in FSc examinations even commit suicide on not being able to make it for professional colleges despite earning over 90pc marks”.

It says the academies are charging heavy fee, which combined with living cost, is much above the entire two-year intermediate cost of an average private college.

“Shining students belonging to cities other than Lahore as well as those from the disadvantaged strata of society are being deprived of the level-playing field while competing in the academy-based admissions to professional colleges and universities. Several social and cultural aspects also play their role in case of girl students,” it says.

Referring to disparity between the weightage attached to medical and engineering entrance tests within Punjab, the committee observed that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council had rigidly laid down 50pc weightage as a binding clause, while the Pakistan Engineering Council left it to the provincial admission authorities and the varsities.

The PA committee has recommended to the Punjab government to take up the matter with the PMDC through the federal government to make necessary amendments and delete section 8 of “Admission in MBBS/BDS Courses and Conditions for House Job/ Internship/ Foundation Year Regulations 2013” to bring it in line with PEC regulations, whereby the weightage has been left to the decision of admission authority.

The committee also urged the Punjab government to take up the matter with the federal government as well as within the provincial government to amend such rules/ notifications of any authority/ body/department so as to facilitate implementation of these recommendations.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2017