No NTS means tough competition : Students fight for admission
No NTS means tough competition: Students fight for admission in bachelor's programmes
Lahore, Aug 21, 2008: With the end of National Testing Services (NTS) examinations in many institutions of the city, tough competition is expected among students wishing to gain admission in four-year bachelor's programmes because they will not be granted admission solely on the basis of their marks.
Although this year's passing percentage in intermediate is fairly low, students are worried about their admissions and are applying to various institutions. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) announced the intermediate result on August 15 and declared 51.54 percent of students successful. This percentage was very low as compared to last year's percentage of 72.67.
Now, students are striving to gain admission at various reputed institutions, and are concerned about merits. The Punjab University (PU), Government College University (GCU), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Forman Christian College University (FCCU) and the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) are among the most sought after institutions.
GCU: GCU is giving admission at the bachelor's level in 22 disciplines. According to GCU policy, candidates securing 50 percent marks in intermediate examinations are eligible to apply for admission.
GCU Registrar Sahibzada Faisal Khurshid said that there were only 50 seats in each discipline. "The last date to apply in GCU is August 23, and students will be admitted on merit," he said.
The last year's merit for various disciplines was: Biotechnology (833 marks), Botany (637), Chemistry (768), Electronics (702), Environmental Science (675), Mathematics (A) (642), Microbiology (795), Physics (717), Zoology (622), Business Accounting and Finance (778), Economics (760), History (655), Philosophy (561), Political Science (779), Psychology (627), Statistics (570), English Literature (730), Islamic Studies (583), Persian (550) and Urdu (552).
LCWU: LCWU Registrar Shaista Vian said that they did not have any record of last year's merit. However, an LCWU official said that last year's merit for admission in four-year bachelor's programmes in 22 major subjects was: Chemistry (762 marks), Zoology (762), Business Administration (766), Environmental Sciences (750), Psychology (717), Mass Communication (762), Botany (662), Economics (714), Mathematics (663), Physics (662), Home Economics (653), Statistics (672), Philosophy (726), Political Science (651), Education (650), International Relations (640), English Literature (624), Gender Studies (634), Islamic Studies (505), Punjabi (503), Urdu Literature (603) and Pakistan Studies (601 marks).
FCCU: According to an FCCU official, the college is admitting new students to 19 major subjects at the bachelor's level. He said that all disciplines of sciences and social sciences were part of the college's curriculum, and students securing 60 percent marks in intermediate examinations were eligible to apply.
BNU: BNU Communication Adviser Arfa Sarfraz said that the university was giving admission in seven disciplines – Mass Communication, Psychology, Economics, Fine Art, Architecture, Visual Art and English Literature.
She said that students securing first division in intermediate examinations could apply for admission at the university. She said that students would be given admission after a written test.
PU: PU Registrar Dr Naeem Ahmed Khan said that admissions were open in 25 departments of the university in four-year BS (honours) programmes. He said that all departments were conducting their own entry test for admission.
KC, FAST-NU booked: The Kinnaird College (KC) and the FAST National University of Computer and Engineering Sciences have completed their admissions in bachelor's disciplines.
The KC completed its admission process before the intermediate result was announced, and August 8 was the last date for applying to the institution.
According to a KC official, the college gave admission to students on the basis of their NTS classification certificates.
FAST-NU Director Arshad Hussain said that the university had given admission in four-year programmes in the subjects of Telecommunication, Computer Sciences, Computer Engineering and Business Administration.
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