Education takes a nose dive
Dhaka University is publishing the results of its admission tests to various units of its undergrad courses. The other public universities will be doing the same. Private universities as well as colleges offering undergrad courses will be preparing for admissions too. These tests are held to assess the knowledge acquired at the higher secondary level. The grade point average (GPA) achieved at the secondary level and higher secondary level will also be taken into consideration.
Dhaka University’s ‘Ga’ unit admission results were recently published. A total of 25,958 candidates took the exam and 2850 passed, that is 10.98 per cent. These are quite disastrous results. Other units are likely to have similar results, as has been happening over the past few years.
Even those who have passed will not all manage to get admission. There are only 1250 seats in this unit. They will be admitted on the basis of merit and quota. The rest will have to go elsewhere.
The thing is, when a student passes the secondary and higher secondary certificate exams with flying colours, getting a GPA 5 or 4 score, why will he or she not able able to pass the admission exam? The questions are based on the higher secondary standard. That means that no matter how sensational the results may be, the standard of education is sadly lacking.
Dhaka University’s ‘Ga’ unit covers nine departments including management, accounting, marketing, finance and banking. The admission exam in this unit consists of 100 questions with a duration of one hour. In the MCQ method, the students will have to answer 20 questions each of five subjects – Bangla, English, accounting, business, marketing/finance and banking. Each question is of 1.2 marks, that is, the total marks of the exam are 120. The passing grade is 48. It is compulsory to get 10 in English. The candidate must have a fair knowledge of English at this stage. It is taught at the secondary and higher secondary level so the student should have a problem in getting this mark. The marks achieved in this admission exam are added to the results of the SSC and HSC exams and a merit list is drawn up.
Before the GPA system there was the first, second and third division. There were letter marks and star marks. Even three decades ago, second division students were considered to be good students. They could get admission almost anywhere. They would do well in their careers. And the sky was the limit for students with two first divisions under their belt.
There is nothing wrong with the new grading system. The merit of a student can be assessed in this method too. There are complaints over quite a few years now that these assessments are being made very shoddily. Many involved in the education sector say that those who would hardly have managed a second division, are easily getting highest grades because of the exam and assessment system. The genuinely good students are losing out. If a student gets 80 marks or if he gets 100 marks, he will get A+ in both cases. Yet there is a big difference between 80 and 100. This hasn’t been taken into considering in this grading system. Before it was neat impossible to get a first division and now if a student get’s GPA4, it is as if tragedy has struck.
Ironically, students with GPA5 can’t even pass the Dhaka University admission exam. They will turn to other public or private universities or degree colleges. There are a handful of good private universities and degree colleges, the rest hand out freely certificates with flying colours, whether you study or not. Students passing out from such institutions can hardly fare well in any competitive exam.
The results of these admission exams show us how weak the foundations are. This has been clear for some time now. Conscious citizens, even teachers, have been expressing their concern. One can take advantage of the weak exam system and pass the HSC exams, but when these students emerge to join the work force, the country’s human resources then faces an acute lack of skills. This is common knowledge. The impact of this weak foundation is spreading steadily.
We have many good students, but in this day and age of globalisation, they are slipping away from us. They are going to foreign lands and doing well for themselves. They are making contributions to the country and communities where they have settled. And our own industries and businesses are replete with foreign personnel. Had our local employers been able to recruit persons from among our own girls and boys, they surely wouldn’t unnecessary be paying exorbitant wages to foreign persons.
It may be said that the Dhaka University admission exams are very difficult. That maybe so, but at least half of the students should pass. The performance at these exams reveals the standard of our education. In the meanwhile, the number of educated unemployed youth continues to grow.
A few educational institutions in the country are of good standard, while the rest are just average or below average. It is said that the standard of the Aliya madrassas is deteriorating too. Recently steps were taken to recognise Qawmi madrassa education, but their education also has serious shortcomings.
Meanwhile, hundreds of English medium schools, without government support, are churning out students for the ‘O’ and ‘A’ level exams. It is a trend for children of well-to-do families to study in these institutions. The fees are steep, but the guardians unhesitatingly pour in their money. Very few of the students passing out of these organisations may adjust to the mainstream.
At the end of the day, it is the people of this country that must run this country. Those who are getting admission into universities today, will be the country’s driving force in five or six years’ time. Their lack of merit is a cause of concern. We want this to be resolved. We can only hope.
* Ali Imam Majumder is a former cabinet secretary and can be contacted at [email protected]. This piece was rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir.