UHS reforms testing system – Single entry test for medical colleges from next year

LAHORE: University of Health Sciences (UHS) shall conduct a single and unified entrance test from next year for intermediate candidates interested in taking admission in medical and dental institutions of the Punjab, UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Malik Hussain Mubashar said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference, Malik said the decision of conducting single entrance test was made keeping in view the best international practices. He said that entry test shall be held soon after FSc examinations in July. New syllabus had been prepared by both FSc and non-FSc teachers and finalised by the Admission Board for public sector medical and dental institutions. There was nothing in the new syllabus which was out of the approved courses for any scheme of education, he maintained.
“The emphasis is on bio-medical sciences; topics and chapters not relevant to medical sciences have been excluded. The number of biology questions has been doubled as compared to those of chemistry and physics,” he explained. He said that university was considering grading or percentile system to be introduced in the entrance test keeping in view the best international practices.
APTITUDE TEST: Malik added that aptitude testing was being introduced from next year, as it was imperative. “People have different aptitudes or innate talents and the basic objective is to test candidates’ attitude and values, as a prerequisite for entry into medical profession,” he said.
Aptitude testing would focus on exploring the cognitive powers of candidates considered to be valuable for health care professionals, he said. Malik explained that aptitude test would consist of three sub-tests: (i) ethical, moral, professional and personality attributes, (ii) quantitative and abstract reasoning, and (iii) analytical reasoning and problem solving.
He maintained that aptitude test preparation was neither necessary nor desirable. “The test is designed to be a test of the aptitude and not academic achievement, therefore the test does not draw on any curriculum which a candidate may learn in advance,” he emphasised.
TEST GUIDELINES: Malik said the format, syllabus and model papers of Entrance Test 2011 had already been released on university website; www.uhs.edu.pk. He informed that the 150 minute test would consist of 220 multiple choice questions (MCQs), each carrying five marks. He explained that question paper will consist of five sections:
(i) Physics, consisting of 44 MCQs, (ii) Chemistry, consisting of 44 MCQs, (iii) English, consisting of 22 MCQs, (iv) Biology, consisting of 88 MCQs and (v) Aptitude test, consisting of 22 MCQs. He advised that students should concentrate on their studies and avoid cramming, as students would be required to apply their knowledge to answer questions.
Negative marking will continue to restrain students from unintelligent guesswork in the test; one mark will be deducted from the total score on each wrong answer, he said.