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- Proportionate Representation of A-Level Syllabus in Pakistani Universities' Entry TestsMajority of the Universities within Pakistan base their criteria of admissions from entry tests. These entry-tests are known to cater students from the FSC/Intermediate stream, which is one of the education systems offered in Pakistan, while neglecting Cambridge A-Levels which is another system of education. Every year, thousands of students find themselves at a significant disadvantage when they complete their A-Level exams, and appear for entry tests in Pakistani Universities. They are given less than a month to cover the pattern, syllabus and intricacies of the FSC/Matriculation system as majority of the entry tests are based on that. This automatically puts them in a very disadvantaged situation and directly leads many of them to take a gap year in order to prepare for these entry tests. It should be known that the Cambridge system already takes one more year to complete (5 years for O/A Levels as compared to 4 years for Matric/Fsc). Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for A-Levels students to prepare for these exams in the required time for a number of reasons. Firstly, A-Level exams are conducted from May till June. There is a certain level of fatigue involved when students face the challenge of learning new material and acclimatizing themselves for a different pattern. Secondly, the content of many topics within the FSC syllabus is unfamiliar territory for A-Level students. Expecting them to learn these concepts even through rote learning is impractical and unfair. Thirdly, the entry-test patterns for universities vary with one another, and unless the student attends academies or tuitions specifically for these tests, it becomes difficult for them to attempt these tests. All of these factors intensify when you realize that majority of these attempts are one-time chances to get into a university, and the only option left is to take a gap year which itself is frowned upon in many households. Another important topic when it comes to unfair representation and treatment of A Levels students is the lack of wholistic evaluation by these Universities. Many O/A Levels students spend a considerable amount of time building a 'portfolio' which includes extra-curricular activities (drama, debates, sports, arts). It is completely disregarded by these Universities and their criteria of admission solely relies on the entry-test and marks/grades achieved in FSC/Matric/O/A Levels. This is incredibly discouraging for students who spend extra time polishing their extra-curricular skill-sets, bringing home international and national awards. The incentive to achieve more becomes completely non-existent and unproductive. A student's future should not only be determined by academics but also by the skill sets acquired outside the classroom. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has the responsibility to take steps which provide A-Levels students a fair platform to compete with FSC students. This problem has become even more apparent as the number of A-Level graduates rises. It is unproductive for the society at large as students cannot begin their under-graduate degrees straight out of college and many have to settle for less competitive universities or even take a year off. Moreover, this also intensifies the issue of brain-drain as many students, who do not find themselves adequately catered, become interested in pursuing education abroad which for the majority is next to impossible and riddled with financial sacrifices from parents.Abdullah Khan1,9457/19/18
- Lift the unreasonable 12:30 gate policy for Kinnaird students to go home earlierKinnaird College/University has a strict policy of not letting students leave before 12:30pm every single day. This means those who only have one morning class scheduled at 8am-9:30am unneccessarily wait for THREE or MORE hours until they are allowed to leave the premises. In fact, even those who arrive early morning to talk with their instructors regarding various reasons, such as their thesis or even a project, will have to wait until 12:30pm to leave. A 10 MINUTE conversation costs them FIVE HOURS of their morning. The students of Kinnaird are grown women who find it highly unreasonable and insulting to have such rules applied to them like little children. Kinnaird's own bachelors program aids women, most of whom are independent young women, and these same women are those who are bound by such unneccessary rules. What is concerning is how there is no direct reason for such a policy when NO OTHER university has employed anything remotely similar. Simply being a different gender makes us bound to follow this 12:30pm rule? Are women in other universities of a different kind than us? EVEN DURING EMERGENCIES, the Kinnaird adminstration does not cooperate. Students must run around the ENITRE campus getting approvals from different heads for just ONE gate pass (which is refused 90% of the time). Sometimes Dr. Khan, the Vice Principal herself arrives at 11am meaning those students with EMERGENCIES in the morning have to wait for her to sign their gate passes and most of the time, these are REFUSED despite GENUINE reasons. I, myself, have personally had to go through this sicknening and unprofessional process of getting a gate pass to leave at 9am when I needed to go to the hospital. Being able to barely walk due to extremely sharp pain in my ribs and facing short breath, I was FORCED to go to around 5 or 6 heads of departments who all REFUSED to sign my gate pass. I was never allowed to leave. I stayed for THREE hours continously throwing up in the bathroom and could not even get a painkiller from the 'health room' (which cannot even provide bandaids most of the time). A certain Head of Dept, made a student wait for over 30 minutes (because of a phone call) before the student could ask for her to sign a gate pass when she was hysterical and crying over having her father hospitalized and her mother anxiously waiting outside the campus to take her. This was REFUSED. She stayed on-campus distraught and inconsolable. A student with Jaundice arrived for a quiz at 8-9:30am and was refused a gate pass, making her wait with a fever and shivers for THREE HOURS. Dr. Khan instead advised her to go the health room, which was with its one small bed already occupied. We, therefore, ask you for your help in supporting us lift this unneccessary, unreasonable and sometimes ruthless and cruel policy for grown women to not be able to leave before 12:30pm. The students of Kinnaird are respectable young women who ask to be treated as respectable young women.Anon ymous107/8/20
- Lift the unreasonable 12:30 gate policy for Kinnaird students to go home earlierKinnaird College/University has a strict policy of not letting students leave before 12:30pm every single day. This means those who only have one morning class scheduled at 8am-9:30am unneccessarily wait for THREE or MORE hours until they are allowed to leave the premises. In fact, even those who arrive early morning to talk with their instructors regarding various reasons, such as their thesis or even a project, will have to wait until 12:30pm to leave. A 10 MINUTE conversation costs them FIVE HOURS of their morning. The students of Kinnaird are grown women who find it highly unreasonable and insulting to have such rules applied to them like little children. Kinnaird's own bachelors program aids women, most of whom are independent young women, and these same women are those who are bound by such unneccessary rules. What is concerning is how there is no direct reason for such a policy when NO OTHER university has employed anything remotely similar. Simply being a different gender makes us bound to follow this 12:30pm rule? Are women in other universities of a different kind than us? EVEN DURING EMERGENCIES, the Kinnaird adminstration does not cooperate. Students must run around the ENITRE campus getting approvals from different heads for just ONE gate pass (which is refused 90% of the time). Sometimes Dr. Khan, the Vice Principal herself arrives at 11am meaning those students with EMERGENCIES in the morning have to wait for her to sign their gate passes and most of the time, these are REFUSED despite GENUINE reasons. I, myself, have personally had to go through this sicknening and unprofessional process of getting a gate pass to leave at 9am when I needed to go to the hospital. Being able to barely walk due to extremely sharp pain in my ribs and facing short breath, I was FORCED to go to around 5 or 6 heads of departments who all REFUSED to sign my gate pass. I was never allowed to leave. I stayed for THREE hours continously throwing up in the bathroom and could not even get a painkiller from the 'health room' (which cannot even provide bandaids most of the time). A certain Head of Dept, made a student wait for over 30 minutes (because of a phone call) before the student could ask for her to sign a gate pass when she was hysterical and crying over having her father hospitalized and her mother anxiously waiting outside the campus to take her. This was REFUSED. She stayed on-campus distraught and inconsolable. A student with Jaundice arrived for a quiz at 8-9:30am and was refused a gate pass, making her wait with a fever and shivers for THREE HOURS. Dr. Khan instead advised her to go the health room, which was with its one small bed already occupied. We, therefore, ask you for your help in supporting us lift this unneccessary, unreasonable and sometimes ruthless and cruel policy for grown women to not be able to leave before 12:30pm. The students of Kinnaird are respectable young women who ask to be treated as respectable young women.Anon ymous107/8/20
- Proportionate Representation of A-Level Syllabus in Pakistani Universities' Entry TestsMajority of the Universities within Pakistan base their criteria of admissions from entry tests. These entry-tests are known to cater students from the FSC/Intermediate stream, which is one of the education systems offered in Pakistan, while neglecting Cambridge A-Levels which is another system of education. Every year, thousands of students find themselves at a significant disadvantage when they complete their A-Level exams, and appear for entry tests in Pakistani Universities. They are given less than a month to cover the pattern, syllabus and intricacies of the FSC/Matriculation system as majority of the entry tests are based on that. This automatically puts them in a very disadvantaged situation and directly leads many of them to take a gap year in order to prepare for these entry tests. It should be known that the Cambridge system already takes one more year to complete (5 years for O/A Levels as compared to 4 years for Matric/Fsc). Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for A-Levels students to prepare for these exams in the required time for a number of reasons. Firstly, A-Level exams are conducted from May till June. There is a certain level of fatigue involved when students face the challenge of learning new material and acclimatizing themselves for a different pattern. Secondly, the content of many topics within the FSC syllabus is unfamiliar territory for A-Level students. Expecting them to learn these concepts even through rote learning is impractical and unfair. Thirdly, the entry-test patterns for universities vary with one another, and unless the student attends academies or tuitions specifically for these tests, it becomes difficult for them to attempt these tests. All of these factors intensify when you realize that majority of these attempts are one-time chances to get into a university, and the only option left is to take a gap year which itself is frowned upon in many households. Another important topic when it comes to unfair representation and treatment of A Levels students is the lack of wholistic evaluation by these Universities. Many O/A Levels students spend a considerable amount of time building a 'portfolio' which includes extra-curricular activities (drama, debates, sports, arts). It is completely disregarded by these Universities and their criteria of admission solely relies on the entry-test and marks/grades achieved in FSC/Matric/O/A Levels. This is incredibly discouraging for students who spend extra time polishing their extra-curricular skill-sets, bringing home international and national awards. The incentive to achieve more becomes completely non-existent and unproductive. A student's future should not only be determined by academics but also by the skill sets acquired outside the classroom. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has the responsibility to take steps which provide A-Levels students a fair platform to compete with FSC students. This problem has become even more apparent as the number of A-Level graduates rises. It is unproductive for the society at large as students cannot begin their under-graduate degrees straight out of college and many have to settle for less competitive universities or even take a year off. Moreover, this also intensifies the issue of brain-drain as many students, who do not find themselves adequately catered, become interested in pursuing education abroad which for the majority is next to impossible and riddled with financial sacrifices from parents.Abdullah Khan1,9457/19/18