Exam concerns

As the government has decided to promote all school and college students to next grades without any exams at least for the time being, there are mixed reactions from students. It is good that the government has taken a timely decision in this regard and has announced that the promoted students will not appear for any composites exams but will only take the final exam next year. Keeping in mind the concerns for children’s health, perhaps this was the best decision to take. The federal minister for education has also announced that special exams will take place between September and November this year for students divided into categories. The minister also announced that schools will remain closed till July 15 and final exams for classes ninth, tenth, and intermediate would not be held this summer. But there is some confusion as in Punjab 10th grade students have been exempted from the no-exam policy as they had already appeared for the exams before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Pakistan. Their practical exams are remaining.

There is even more confusion with the pending exams at universities across Pakistan. There has already been much talk about the problems of internet connectivity for students who do not have high-speed internet facilities. Many private universities that charge huge fees have upgraded their facilities for online classes but the same facilities are not available to most students at their homes. The HEC has been forcing all universities to not only conduct and continue with online classes, but has also asked them to administer online exams. This has created more problems for university students than solutions. There has to be a better way to deal with this situation. As many qualified educationists know, there are other more appropriate methods of testing students than written exams.

In modern education practice and theory, universities employ multiple ways of assessing student performance. They may include more assignments, reports, research projects, and individual vivas with students that can be recorded for quality control purposes. Some universities are imposing a highly complicated software on students and teachers. This is not fair to all students and teachers as it takes a while to master it. In the first place, the HEC has no jurisdiction over provincially chartered universities. After the 18th Amendment, provincial HECs should be making decisions for their universities. These are highly critical times for students and they must be spared the torture of appearing for online written exams.