Improving the examination standards is paramount but upgrading the examiners' standard is no less important. The quality of education will emerge in the universities if social values are pruned as well.
These remarks came from Professor Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi, in his presidential address at a seminar on 'Examination Standards', organised by Quality Enhancement Cell and Department of Physiology, University of Karachi, in the Arts Auditorium on Saturday.
Qasim reminded the audience that the quality of education was top priority of Higher Education Commission (HEC). "It is now the sacred duty of the academics to contribute to the spiralling educational standards," he added.
The Vice Chancellor was visibly annoyed by the constant ringing tones of the mobile phones inside the auditorium. The seminar co-ordinator had earlier requested the audience to switch off their mobile phones. He regretted the culture of defiance, indifference and insensitivity in the society.
"Even the educated people are not immune to it," he remarked.
Professor Qasim advised the assemblage of 'distinguished persons' that they had to work in this type of social environment to make education meaningful and intellectually productive.
He recalled the academic decision of 1973 when Semester System was chosen as mode of education in the University of Karachi. "Semester system interacts between the teachers and the students, but it has to be adopted in its complete shape, not in bits and pieces", he remarked.
He stressed that conviction was essential if the teachers wanted to enhance the examination standards.
"The implementation stage would come after that", he added.
"Is the teacher trained to teach and examine the students?" he wondered. "Today, there is no standardisation in the pattern of examination", he said.
He concluded by saying that judging system should be improved to check the students' standards in a correct and judicious way.
Professor Akhlaq Ahmed, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University, said that upgrading the traditional teaching methods should be the first priority. Then the examination standards would be enhanced itself. He reminded the teachers that they should be role model for their students.
" We teachers should be the ideal of the students. Are we doing that? I think not", he ruminated.
He advised the teachers to interact more with the students to build an educational bridge that could be traversed to uplift the standard of education. "We need knowledge-based students, not the degree-based students", he proclaimed.
Professor Asif Hashmi, a distinguished Neurologist from Lahore University of Health Sciences, delivered the keynote address at the seminar. He stressed the need for enhancing examination standards to ensure quality education.
He reminded the audience that the examinations were not just a dumb ritual to assess the students' standard. "These are very important for developing the system of quality education among the students' community," he remarked.
Hashmi said that universities must have impact on the society. His presentation on Examination Standards was thought-provoking and comprehensive, in which he pinpointed the areas that needed improvement and implementation.
Professor Abdul Azeem, Co-ordinator, Quality Enhancement Cell and Chairman, Department of Physiology, presented an Overview on Examination Standards.
He gave details about the proposed enhancement in examination standards.
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