Though Education Testing Council (ETC) has been launched by Higher Education Commission (HEC) with great funfair, but its future seems quite dormant, as majority of the universities are still reluctant to conduct their admission tests through ETC.
Sources said that majority of the varsities across the country, particularly in Punjab and the federal capital, have yet to comply with the directives of the commission to conduct test through the ETC, as they have followed their own testing mechanisms.
The ETC was formulated by HEC in 2016 in compliance with a Lahore High Court (LHC) judgment aimed at conducting admission tests for all recognised universities and degree awarding institutes (DAIs).
In this regard, the HEC strictly directed the vice chancellors, rectors and heads of all public and private sector universities to adopt ETC’s testing service for conducting their admission tests. “As announced at the ETC commencement ceremony and approved in the first meeting of the council held on May 6, 2017, the ETC will be launching tests for admission to undergraduate programmes from Fall 2017, during first half of July 2017 in five broad categories including engineering, medical, basic and natural sciences, management sciences and social sciences, arts and humanities,” it stated.
The HEC set June 16 as deadline for universities to submit their response in this regard, but so far very limited universities responded in affirmative, as majority of the universities refused to follow the ETC. They pleaded that the adoption of ETC’s testing service would challenge their autonomy; hence they are in no mood to adopt the HEC-devised testing mechanism.
Currently, there are 1,110 HEC recognised institutions, including universities and their sub-campuses, recognised by the commission, affiliated colleges and foreign collaboration institutes.
The list of federal universities comprises Quaid-e-Azam University, the National University of Sciences and Technology, the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, the Air University , the Bahria University, the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), the Capital University of Science and Technology, the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, the Foundation University, the Institute of Space Technology, the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), the Muslim Youth University, the National Defense University (NDU), the National University of Computer and Emerging, the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Riphah International University, the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University and the Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University Pakistan.
Major of the above federal universities have yet to adopt ETC testing service, as only COMSATS, ZAB Medical University and along five affiliated medical Colleges, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat Medical University, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, NUST Islamabad and NDU Islamabad have adopted HEC-devised testing service so far.
Sources said that majority of the universities preferred to conduct their admission tests through universities’ own admission entry tests instead of ETC. They were of the view that since the universities had their own testing mechanism, so it doesn’t make any sense to follow the ETC, because it would negatively impact their autonomy.
Sources said that the HEC has neither the mandate to dictate the universities to conduct admission tests through ETC nor seemingly the commission has the capacity to cope with such a daunting task.
When HEC approached for comments on the issue, Higher Education Commission Director (Media) Aayesha Ikram through her email reply said that as of first notification issued by HEC executive director in June 2017 over 55 universities agreed to take the test and later 6 more joined to adopt ETC entry test.
She said that around 40 more accepted the adoption; but will join for Academic year 2018, as over 66,000 students applied for the first test.
To a question as how many universities in federal capital adopted ETC’s testing service, she replied that COMSATS, ZAB Medical University and along five affiliated medical Colleges, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat Medical University, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, NUST Islamabad and NDU Islamabad adopted it.
She said that from Academic year 2018, it will be mandatory for all public sector universities and decision will be made by steering committee of ETC for private sector universities for those who are reluctant to opt ETC.
To a question that what action has been taken against the universities not following ETC, Aayesha said that no need for action as it was not compulsory to adopt ETC this time, adding that HEC has not forced anyone in this regard.
She said that the government has been taken on board regarding establishment of ETC so funds were being allocated as per requirement for each fiscal year. To a question that the ETC has been launched to counter National Testing Service’s hegemony, she replied that the ETC has been established to ensure transparent entry tests across Pakistan and are free to facilitate students desirous of gaining higher education. However, she escaped the question about the future of ETC if universities refused to adopt ETC’s testing service.
