LAHORE: In December last year, the federal HEC issued a notice that it would be mandatory for all universities to conduct their admission tests under the free Education Testing council (ETC) which was launched in April 2016.
Now there seems to be a rift starting between the Punjab HEC and the federal Higher Education Commission over the creation of a testing council to supervise tests and conducting them. This rift has inevitably caused a divide between the provinces with the HEC’s of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa backing the federal HEC where as Sindh seems to be siding with Punjab on the matter.
According to an anonymous statement by a Vice Chancellor of a university in Punjab the Punjab HEC is not bound to follow the directives of the federal HEC. “We will decide about the new directives of the federal HEC in our next syndicate meeting after Eid ul Fitr.”
In a letter sent to the Vice chancellors and heads of both public and private universities of Punjab by HEC Executive director Arshad Ali, the HEC sought their approval and support for the ETC. The letter stated that the tests will be arranged during the fall semester of this year.
A letter from federal HEC Executive Director Arshad Ali was sent to the vice chancellors, rectors and heads of public and private universities seeking their confirmation and support for the free Education Testing Council (ETC). The registration procedure will be done online with the students even given the choice to choose a test center for their convenience. While the HEC service will arrange admission tests in five categories namely, engineering, basic and natural sciences, arts and humanities, medical and management and social sciences.
The federal HEC has stated that this initiative was taken as a result of government advice to relieve students and their parents from the burden of taking multiple tests and paying for them separately.
After the federal HEC issued the letter, Punjab HEC informally informed the universities within the province to take their own tests. This decision to stray from federal government policy is evident of the
The decision comes at a recurring brawl between the federal HEC and Punjab HEC, since its formation in 2014.
