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Independent committee for entry test proposed

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16 Jul 2013 - 19:56
author avatar
16 Jul 2013 - 19:56

KABUL law, on Tuesday called for the creation of an independent committee to conduct entry tests.

The association members told a press conference in Kabul the Higher Education Ministry had become an entry test institute and proposed the establishment of an independent body to conduct the exams.

The proposed committee should make laws for the test, keeping in view Afghanistan’s interests, suggested Prof. Najibullah Amarkhel, a member of the union.

The ministry has said an independent department is being established to conduct university entry tests as part of a new comprehensive plan to overcome challenges to the exam process.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Prof. Bari Saddique said earlier this month the ministry considered adding 31 more faculties and more than 100 departments to the existing universities this year.

He added the new plan was being devised to overcome challenges including security, interference of irrelevant individuals, weak monitoring, cheating, fraud and the lack of cooperation among security institutions.

He said students securing less than 65 percent marks would be dropped from admission to universities and examination zones would be reduced to eight from the current 36 as part of the new plan.

Prof. Amarkhel said the ministry’s plan had both positive and negative aspects and they would neither endorse nor reject it. He said the ministry’s plan should have been devised by the proposed independent committee.

Amarkhel also urged the parliament to adopt the higher education law as soon as possible, ridiculing lawmakers for wasting time on Pashtu and Dari terms used for university and academic ranks instead of focusing on the capacity of higher and semi higher education, laboratories and research centres.

“The two words – Pohantoon and Danish Gah – have blocked the approval of the law over the past seven years,” the professor said.

Another speaker Prof. Lotfullah Safi said the draft higher education law was 40 years old and could not meet contemporary demands.  However, he called for an early approval of the law, saying its delay was injustice with universities.

Earlier this month, the lower house once again clashed over the expressions used for university and academic ranks in Pashtu and Dari languages during a debate over the higher education law.

The draft law, having 72 articles and seven chapters, was sent to the lower house of parliament by the Justice Ministry seven years ago. There have been verbal and physical clashes among MPs during debates over Dari and Pashtu expressions.

Some MPs insist university should be called “Danish Kadah” in Dari and faculty “Danish Gah.” They call for using Dari words for academic designations instead of Pashto.

But others want Pashtu terms like “Pohantoon” for university and “Pohanzai” for faculty. Similarly they suggest “Pohyalai, “Pohanyar”, “Pohanmal”, “Pohandwe and “Pohand” for academic ranks.

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