Frequently Asked Questions - Stakeholders

I. Educational Policy

1. What can an examination board alone do to improve the quality of education in Pakistan?

A. It can do quite a lot in fact. Pakistani education currently suffers from a marked absence of explicit educational standards. An A1 is 80 percent, but what does this 80 percent represents is not clear. What knowledge, understandings, skills and insights do we expect of a passing candidate at Grade E? What do we expect of a grade A1 candidate? Is it only the ability to memorize? AKU-EB provides a detailed picture of the competences associated with each subject grade. These are the basic data that the Curriculum Wing requires to keep national syllabuses under review. The entire exercise is called standard setting. It is something an examination board alone can do.

2. Should an examination board be training teachers and prescribing syllabuses or 'merely' conducting examinations?  

A. An examination board which limits its activities to conducting examinations is an expensive luxury that Pakistan can ill-afford. Such a board keeps its candidate fees at a modest level by throwing away all the valuable educational information which lies in the detail of candidates' responses. It retains only total scores which have no other use than the production of rank orders. More than 40 hours of examining to produce a single rank order is a wildly expensive and inefficient procedure. AKU-EB collects educational data from the candidates' question responses. But to collect the information and not use it would be even more wasteful of educational resources. AKU-EB passes on what it learns to students through materials development; to teachers through in-service training and to trainers of teachers through participation in the subject panels of the Board.

3. Can students continue their education in an AKU-EB affiliated school if they do not opt for AKU-EB?

A. There is no restriction on the part of AKU-EB.  AKU-EB has a clear understanding that sections in the same school can be affiliated with different boards

4. Can students succeed in their examinations through selective study?

A. Selective study is discouraged in AKU-EB examinations. In fact, there should be limited or no question choice in the examinations. It promotes thorough coverage of the syllabus in preparation for the examination. Multiple choice items which have fast response times is used as a means of increasing syllabus coverage.

II. Teacher Training

1. What is the intention of the teacher training programme?

A. The whole training is a peer learning exercise in which teachers share each others experience. We hope to distil and reinforce their best practices. We are beginning to support a more discussion-oriented classroom where student opinions are valued. There is further support for whole school evaluation from feedback from the examinations themselves. Many of the participants are from school systems and school systems are networks which allow of mutual support but then there are isolated schools as well. For training purpose we cluster schools and combine isolated schools with school systems. We do not want the school systems or the isolated schools to resent working with each other. Coming together and working together helps they make progress together. Pakistani education will benefit from such cooperation.

2. What kind of training is provided to the teachers?

A. There are two types of teacher development programmes, namely, the material development workshops and orientation workshops. During the development of syllabuses the subject panels have identified areas where there are gaps between the syllabuses and the textbooks. In material development workshops, groups of subject teachers meet for three days to fill in the gaps, by developing teaching learning material. While material development workshops are subject specific, orientation workshops bring together all teachers of classes IX and X from several schools to better understand their individuals contributions to the overall development of the student group

3. Will there be any training for the head teachers?

A. We need to establish a contact group so that we can share information and issues with one another. We would like to support a network which will be mutually beneficial for all concerned. Unfortunately, this development has been prevented by the harassment and intimidation for political ends of some schools choosing to affiliate with AKU-EB. To allow its schools to pursue their educational aspirations undisturbed by ill-informed protest, AKU-EB has a current policy of not revealing the identity of its affiliated schools, even to each other. These materials development workshops have proved extremely popular with teachers and increasing numbers of schools, uncertain of the adequacy of their current approach to class IX and X teaching, have asked permission to send teachers for training in the year prior to first registering candidates for AKU-EB examinations. AKU-EB has responded positively to their requests but demand for the heavily subsidized training is now so great that schools pursuing this route are being asked to pay an Rs.8,000 per annum pre-affiliation fee in recognition of the absence of any compensating candidate for income. When head teachers are ready to reveal their affiliation, AKU-EB will bring that kind of mutual support channel into being.

4. What are the changes AKU-EB has brought in teaching methods?

A. AKU-EB effects improvements in classroom teaching and in learning in Classes IX and X through teacher development and support services.  However, interactive teaching methods are already a standard feature in many of the affiliated schools through to Class VII.  It was like-minded schools that wished to continue their sound educational practice into Classes IX and X which pressed for the setting up of AKU-EB.

5. When is the training given?

A. This whole school training or orientation programme is given at the beginning of the school year. Materials development workshops are an ongoing activity in both term time and vacations.

6. What is the cost of training?

A. The annual school affiliation fee of Rs.3000 entitles the school to representation in six materials development workshops. The training cost is met in part from candidate fees but is heavily subsidized by the AKU-EB.

7. What are the venues of training?

A. Material development workshops are mostly held in Karachi , Islamabad and in any other city where there is a cluster of affiliated schools and where good residential facilities are available. Our cost is the accommodation of the teacher for these workshops, the cost of expert input and of clerical and administrative support. Your cost will be the release of teachers for these workshops. We provide good secretarial support for these workshops to increase teacher productivity. This makes a tremendous difference to the whole exercise. The whole school orientation programmes seek to minimize participant travel. They are conducted locally within the school clusters.

III. Affiliation

1. What types of schools are eligible to apply? 

A. Its ordinance empowers AKU-EB to examine in schools and colleges throughout Pakistan and abroad. However, in a subsequent ad hoc agreement with the Federal Ministry of Education, AKU-EB has undertaken to confine its services to the private sector for the present.

2. What are the general requirements of affiliation?

A. There are certain general requirements of affiliation:

• School should be registered. School must follow the National Scheme of Studies. Schools must undertake to release teachers for material development and other workshops. Regular visits by our quality assurance officers should be facilitated. Schools should be able to nominate an examination officer who will interface with AKU-EB. There should be proper furniture, library, separate toilets for boys and girls, clean drinking water for children, proper well equipped laboratories for all science subjects. The school must set up an appeal panel to consider cases of personal hardship or of malpractice and make recommendations to the AKU-EB for appropriate action.
• Student attendance must be monitored.

3. Will affiliation to AKU-EB be exclusive?

A. Affiliation to AKU-EB is not an exclusive one, and schools can maintain other affiliations too, provided they follow the Scheme of Studies offered to them by the AKU-EB and also abide by other procedures. EB may at its own discretion allow affiliation in one of the two categories, one in affiliated schools and the other in the examination centres.

IV. Examinations: Processes, Conduct and Results

1. How does e-marking work?

A. It doesn't mean that the computer will mark the children's work; that task requires the exercise of human intelligence. We will in fact be scanning all the scripts straight on into a secure computer and the markers will mark at networked computer screens. They will see both the student's handwritten answer and that official mark scheme on the screen at the same time. They compare the two and record their judgment. The student's response is anonymous. The marker will mark just one question for many children. That means a computer does all the addition, the computer keeps track who is being assessed, no clerical checking is involved and so the task of marking is professional work.

2. Is e-marking just a sales pitch for outdated computer technology?

A. Far from it, leading a candidate's hand written answer script into a server, segmenting it question by question in the server and distributing the question answers to different workstations without a visible means of candidate identification, capturing the marker's response and then putting the independent evaluations of half a dozen markers back together again is leading edge technology, dependent upon scanners which now read at least 10,000 pages an hour.. AKU-EB intends to bring state-of-the-art public examining practice to Pakistan for the reason AKU has a developed a special software of e-marking bringing Pakistan as a fourth examining body in the world having this e-marking capability.

3. Can you just elaborate what magical method you will be using to announce the results within six weeks, instead of four months? 

A. The entire examination process is computerized. Current examination procedures involve shifting and sifting literally tons of paper. Finding a specific script among lakhs of scripts is time consuming. It is a recurrent task during the processing of candidate responses. Warehouse sized storage space and armies of porters and clerical assistants, every one of whom has been trained to be able to locate any script whether authorized or not, are essential to this approach. E-marking is made possible by high speed scanners. Once the image is captured it cannot be tampered with. It is available at a key press or a bar code scan. The time saving is enormous.

4. What steps are being taken by AKU-EB to make the examining process more transparent?

A. The most important step is the provision of detailed feedback to schools on their own students' performance question by question. Part of that feedback is an explicit statement by AKU-EB of the specific learning objective and cognitive level of each mark point. For the first time teachers are in a position to critically reflect on educational intentions and values which can only serve to enhance the professionalism of both teachers and examiners.

5. How do the teachers participate in the examination process?

A. The teachers are actively involved in the process; they are being given training and for science practical special tips for safety during experiments. The teacher learns how to do things in this environment; they need conditions of safety to use learning material. We are looking for more active involvement. Our aim is to disseminate an educational testing system and not just train and involve those at the centre. We are thinking about training of teachers in more active learning, shifting the responsibility from the teacher to the learner.

6. Where will the examination centres be?

A. We would like as far as possible to examine the candidates in their own schools. There is a problem of large numbers and often inadequate facilities if candidates are shifted to special examination centres. Instead, we will be moving invigilators into affiliated schools. Several educational researches show that a student performance is improved when being examined in a familiar environment.

7. What about the invigilators and examiners? Who will provide?

A. Invigilators will be employed by AKU-EB on a temporary basis. We are looking for appropriate community organizations that could supply invigilators. They might include retired school teachers and people of some standing in the community. Invigilates will be paid. Good marking and good examining will be another kind of in-service training for teachers. We are hoping that the marking will not be just a Karachi or Islamabad activity. We would like to reach the rural schools and involve some of their teachers in the marking exercise. Marking is not a mindless routine but a highly professional activity. Those trained will go back to their schools as better teachers.

8. What does an examination officer do?

A. That person will be a single point of contact within the school who will deal with all logistic matters. The examination officer will report to our invigilators and the invigilators will report on the condition of the schools, their labs, library, etc. It is a two-way process. School Examination Officer will act as secretary of the internal appeals procedure. We would like to have a school committee which should be the first point of contact in any case of malpractice. Its recommendations will be passed back to us and we will make a final decision affecting the results.   

9. What will be the role of practical examinations in AKU-EB? 

A. We are looking for more active engagement in almost all subjects, including Geography, Chemistry and Physics. We will be working on all subjects in the same sort of way so that students will have a coherent experience as they move from subject to subject. We are seeking to foster practical work. Without practical activity the element of interpretation is missing. Assessment of practical examinations should not be ignored. . 

10. Do you send any model question papers?

A. Yes, there are model question papers which offer guidance to teachers.

11. What is the pattern of the question papers?

A. The pattern of the questions papers is specific to the subject to be examined and is set out in the subject syllabus.  AKU-EB's supply specimen items, questions and mark schemes to reassure teachers and students that they are on track.

12. How would a child be helped to prepare for the examination?

A. The AKU-EB subject syllabuses is distributed to every subject teacher.  It is recommended that teachers share their contents, especially the specific learning objectives which focus on interactive teaching and activity based learning with their students.  Parents can buy syllabuses directly from AKU-EB at Rs. 50/- per syllabus.  In addition, AKU-EB distributes learning materials to every candidate free of cost, addressing those curriculum topics which are not well served by the current text books.

13. What would be the status of the results?

A. AKU-EB has received a statement from IBCC acknowledging in writing the validity of its SSC and HSC marks which states: "The quality of examinations conducted by it [AKU-EB] and thereof results compiled/announced will be at par and as good as those of the other Boards of Education" .

14. If a child fails in any subject, what will happen to him or her?

A. Supplementary examinations will be available as normal at the end of Class X.  Marks in the supplementary examination will be substituted for the marks attained in the first attempt and may thus change the overall grade.

15.. What are be the subject combinations for the different groups (Science and Commerce Group)?

A. AKU-EB offers Commercial Geography and Economics for the commerce group. The complete Science group is available now and a broad range of choice in the Humanities. Please refer to the SSC Scheme of Studies given in each syllabus

V. Capacity Building  

1. Where will we get employees for this new examination board?

A. We are developing applicants who are enthusiastic, committed and eager to learn. AKU-EB is a member of both the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) and the Association of Commonwealth Examination and Accrediting Bodies (ACEAB). Both offer short courses and internships. The Director, AKU-EB initiated the centre for Formative Assessment Studies of the University of Manchester, UK, and designed and helped to teach its M.Ed. (Assessment and Evaluation), a specialist course in public examining policy and practice with graduates working in the Boards of over 20 countries. The AKU-Institute of Educational Development (AKU-IED) is starting a certificate programme in the same area in collaboration with AKU-EB. Capacity is being built.

VI.  Textbooks

1. What will be the cost of textbooks class wise / group wise?

A. AKU-EB will not be publishing any text books. It will only provide supportive teaching and learning materials such as anthologies and assessment units. Recommended text books for student purchase are those published by the local text book boards which are available at nominal cost.  However, AKU-EB syllabuses do have a list of recommended texts and reference books to be purchased by the school for its library. The recommended texts will be periodically updated.

VII. Scheme of Studies

1. What scheme of studies is AKU-EB offering?

A. AKU-EB follows the revised Scheme of Studies issued by the Curriculum Wing of the Federal Ministry of Education in 2005. In the new arrangement, all subjects are examined at the end of Year X. The total mark is 850. 

VIII. Reading Comprehension

1. Is reading comprehension test in English and Urdu (Compulsory) means to read aloud?