Who is AU Khan? (Matric system of education, the name of A.U. Khan is not unheard of)
Karachi: For anyone who has been part of the Matric system of education, the name of A.U. Khan is not unheard of. Even years after his death, A. U. Khan's guess papers sell like hot cakes in the market before examinations. Known to have predicted the right questions for most examinations, A. U. Khan had a huge following of students that counted on him days before the exam.
"A. U. Khan had a Masters in English Literature and was the principal of private school, but since he had been closely observing the pattern of examination, his predicted questions were always true," informed a salesman at Shakeel Brothers Booksellers and Publishers in Liaquatabad, who have been publishing A.U. Khan's guess papers for almost 40 years now.
Despite his death, Shakeel Brothers continue to make money through his name. They claim that had they not kept the business running, other publishers in the market would have cashed in his name. "It would have been hard to check this practice since piracy is rampant and the demand for guess papers is very high.† At least we have reliable and learned professors who prepare these guess papers from us," says the salesman.
The actual minds behind A.U. Khan's guess papers are not known today but regardless, his popularity promises big bucks every year. The guess paper is sold between Rs15 to Rs25 for different classes.
But there are some that question the credibility of his guess papers. "Since the pattern of examination remains unchanged for decades, predicting questions for upcoming years is no longer a difficult task," comments Abu Bakr, a salesman at Urdu Bazaar and is not afraid to add: "We are just making money on his name."
Many are of the opinion that more objective questions should be included so only those students succeed in exams who have a better understanding of the subject. But until that happens, A.U. Khan's fans are here to stay. -AMK (The News)
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