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Board Set
to Conduct SSC Examination in 2006; Over 100 Schools Affiliated
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First
meeting of AKU-EB Board of Directors held
"The government is committed to raising the standard of education,
and it views AKU-EB as a national resource and a trendsetter for other
examination boards in Pakistan." This was stated by Federal Minister
for Education, Lt. Gen (Retd.) Javed Ashraf Qazi, at the inaugural
meeting of the Board of Directors of Aga Khan University Examination
Board (AKU-EB).
The AKU-EB Board of Directors consist of eminent citizens, experts
on examination system, including public examination boards and educationists
from Pakistan and overseas. They reviewed the Board's progress since
its establishment in 2003. Members were informed that over 168 schools
had applied for affiliation of which 107 in all four provinces had
qualified after inspection. Preparations were on schedule to conduct
SSC Part I examinations in 2006.
The Minister in his address commended AKU-EB's steps towards the improvement
of education in Pakistan. AKU-EB, he noted, "promotes improved methods
of teaching the national curriculum". The Minister underscored the
importance of problem-based learning that focuses on understanding
and application of knowledge, and placed special emphasis on its teacher
training initiatives.
Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President Aga Khan University and Chair of AKU-EB
Board of Directors, said that "the Board's guiding purpose is to improve
the quality of education by making examinations of reputable standard
more accessible to Pakistani students." AKU-EB is the first Board
in the country to translate the national curriculum from English into
Urdu, "so that it can better guide teaching in Urdu-medium schools."
President Kassim-Lakha reiterated that AKU-EB would be examining the
national curriculum. Through the distinctive style of its examinations,
the Board would encourage students to develop higher order intellectual
skills of knowledge, understanding and application in place of the
rote learning approach prevalent in too many schools today.
Commenting on the work of AKU-EB, one of its two international members,
Dato' Termizi Abdul Aziz, who is Chief Executive Officer of Training
Division, at Malaysian Teachers Foundation, said, "AKU-EB is moving
in the right direction of conducting examinations on the basis of
interaction good practice.
Another member, Senator Roshan Bharucha, Chairperson of the Senate's
Standing Committee on Health, said, "This is the need of the time:
the more boards we have, the greater the competition." Member Saeed
Ahmed Qureshi, former Secretary General, Ministry of Finance, said,
"Members were delighted that a diverse category of institutions had
affiliated themselves with the Board which confirmed that the fees
charged by AKU-EB were reasonable and in line with the public examination
Board. "Their main reason to seek affiliation is that it will upgrade
the quality of education."
Other members appointed to the Board are Brig. (R) Mushtaq Ahmad Alizai,
Chair of the Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen, [of school examination
boards in Pakistan]; Dr Thomas Christie, Director, AKU-EB; Dr Bernadette
Dean, Head of Academic and Student Affairs, AKU-Institute for Educational
Development; Dr Parveen Hassan, Resident Technical Advisor, NEAS Project,
Ministry of Education; Almas Nadeem, Principal, Higher Secondary School
for Girls, Karimabad, Hunza Northern Area; Dr Sohail Naqvi, Executive
Director, Higher Education Commission; Dr David Taylor, Acting Provost
and Chief Academic Officer, AKU; Prof Jeff Thompson, Director of Research,
International Baccalaureate Organization, Geneva; and Dr Camer Vellani,
Distinguished University Professor, AKU.
At a dinner held in honour of the Board of Directors, Dr Hamida Khuhro,
Minister for Education and Literacy, Government of Sindh, expressed
the hope that AKU-EB would prove a valuable competitor for the government
examination boards and "will give us the motivation to raise our own
standards." She said that the government on its part is determined
to improve education in the country. Dr Khuhro also appreciated AKU's
significant role in training of government teachers.
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