PBTE ordered to develop secrecy mechanism for practical exams

LAHORE : Secretary Industries, Commerce, Investment and Skills Development Department (ICI & SDD) Punjab, Sohail Ashraf has directed the Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE) to develop a strong secrecy mechanism for practical examinations and also move towards a paperless environment.

Secretary ICI & SDD Sohail Ashraf instructed the PBET officials to upgrade the complete system of board on modern lines and bring innovation in the courses. It is imperative to move towards a paperless system and computerised marking of examinations and daily correspondence.

Technical courses should be aligned with contemporary requirements and industry needs so that graduates can get immediate employment,” the secretary instructed. He also expressed satisfaction with the overall performance of the PBTE and said that the board should be made a role model in terms of education and innovation.

The PBTE officials gave a detailed presentation to the Secretary ICI & SDD regarding the performance of the PBTE at the Secretary's office on Tuesday.

PBTE officials during the presentation informed that a total of 959 courses, diplomas and degrees of 3 months, 6 months, one year, three years and four years duration were issued by the institutes affiliated to the board whereas the three-year diploma in Associate Engineering was being offered in 51 different technologies.

They also briefed that a total of 148,479 students were registered during the year 2018 whereas 153,477 students in 2019, 98,134 in 2020 and 111,562 students were registered during the year 2021 by PBTE. They informed that an online system has been launched by the board for the convenience of students and through this system, students will be able to apply for admissions to courses at home and find out about board-affiliated institutions and examination centres. Moreover, through this system, challan forms for admission and examination fees could be downloaded from the board's website.

The secretary was informed that due to Covid-19, the PBTE had decided to conduct the examinations online and in this regard the examinations for e-employment courses were conducted online as a pilot project. However, after the sufficient positive results, the board has decided to make the examination system online. The online system has also been upgraded to make the exam system more secret.

student unions: Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) organised a national dialogue on student unions here Tuesday. Leaders of different political parties attended the dialogue. According to a press release, prominent among others were Kh Ahmad Hassaan, Liaquat Baloch, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed and Shabir Gujjar while heads of different student organisations also participated in the programme. The participants passed a resolution presented by IJT Pakistan for the restoration of student unions. The speakers observed that the ban on student unions was against the fundamental rights.