It has become virtually impossible for a student without distinction grades in HSC exams to get into government-funded universities for a bachelor’s degree.
Of the 1 million students taking this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations, nearly 43,000 achieved the top grade point average of five. With only around 38,000 places available in the 32 public universities, this means even getting a top mark is no guarantee of a place.
The minimum GPA requirement to take the Dhaka University admission test is 3.5. Growing competition now makes it far less likely that students with less-than-outstanding scores are likely to be even considered when they might have been in the past.
While this logjam arises out of a general trend of higher scores in exams, it does not actually make it easier for universities to pick the most capable students. Indeed, the concerns expressed by academics and employers about the capability of some graduates, suggests that over-balance on GPA scores does not guarantee the most effective selection.
One way to address this would be for universities to sharpen their focus at the admission stage, by looking beyond GPA scores, and also assessing candidates on factors such as bespoke admission tests and indicators of potential and capability that can be provided by interviews and records of voluntary and extra-curricular activities.
Increasing flexibility would do more than widen the pool for selection to top public universities. It would help send the message that the school system needs: That it should be less driven by an overly narrow focus on exam scores.
This focus results in a never-ending race to cram unimaginative curricular, often supported by coaching centres which benefit mainly students from wealthier families, solely for the purpose of doing well in unimaginative exams, which neither accurately measure nor deliver genuinely improved educational attainment.
An embedded fixation with memorisation and rote learning stunts creativity, and is one reason why we now have the High Court seeking to set weight limits on the bags of primary school children.
Top public universities provide the benchmark for our schools. If they take a lead in putting less emphasis on unimaginative exams and teaching methods, it will improve the quality and effectiveness of the entire education system.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
