ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) will introduce objective questions in matriculation examinations from 2003 in four basic science disciplines: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.

Through a workshop on test-item development, the board has already devised 6,192 questions — 1,800 in Biology, 1,368 in Mathematics, 2,024 in Chemistry and 1,000 in Physics.

The students of Class-1X will have to take the secondary school certificate examinations 2003 under the new system. The question paper will be 60 per cent objective type and 40 per cent subjective. The new system intends to discourage rote learning and will help evaluate the students’ concepts.

The guidelines to devise objective questions were given by the Inter Board Committee of Chairman in view of the fact that the Education Sector Reforms (ESR) had laid emphasis on bringing uniformity in education regarding syllabi, books and the system of examination in particular.

The details about the new system were introduced at the concluding ceremony of a workshop organized by the FBISE here at the Federal College of Education on Saturday. The purpose of the workshop was to create an awareness among the teachers about imparting education based on comprehension and analysis rather than momorization, and to develop practical skills for the test items.

Federal education secretary Tariq Farooq, who was the chief guest at the function, distributed certificates among the participants.

He announced that the education ministry was developing a programme, National Educational Assessment System, to improve learning and teaching skills of both students and teachers at different levels.

The system will soon be introduced from Class 1V, that is the concluding year of the primary level, and Class 8, that is the last year of the elementary level. “This is just a beginning as this system of evaluation will also be stretched to the higher secondary level,” the secretary observed.

He said, for implementing the new system, the British department of foreign assistance had provided a $1 million grant, while the World Bank released a soft credit of $4 million. This system has been adopted by most of the developed world, he emphasized.

Mr Farooq said unless the education system was improved in a scientific manner and according to the modern-day requirements, the entire edifice of the education sector reforms, which the government had developed, would not have a strong foundation.

An examination should not only test the memories of students, but also their comprehension and concepts in all disciplines, through objective system of evaluation, he said. This will help understand at what level the students have grasped the basic ideas and concepts, and how they can apply these in different situations.

“We must devise an objective, fair, judicious and impartial system of evaluation as our examination system has lost its credibility,” the secretary said. He deplored that the current system was prone to external influences, backdoor approaches, nepotism etc.

This was the reason, he said, “our degrees were no longer recognized by the world and our students were forced to clear the examinations of TOEFL, SAT, GMAT, GRE etc., to get admission to the foreign educational institutions.”

Earlier, former FBISE chairman Allah Wadhayo Baloch, in his speech, said devising of objective questions through the workshop reflected government’s seriousness in implementing the ESR. Shamim Abdul Baqai, a participant of the course, described the workshop as a “step forward in right direction”. Chief Coordinator F.M. Nasim said through the workshop they were changing the concept of education.