Probe body recommends complete overhaul of ETEA
By Yousaf Ali
PESHAWAR: Revealing controlled leak of the papers of entrance test for admission to medical and dental colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa every year, the inquiry committee into the matter has recommended complete revamping of the Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA), stern action against the officials involved and proper mechanism and legislation for transparency in the process from paper making until result declaration.
The Higher Education Department had formed the inquiry committee after the alleged paper leak and mistakes in the paper of the entry test held on September 30, 2018.
This was the fourth time that the test was arranged after being cancelled twice following confirmed leak of the paper and postponed once due to bad weather and Muharram holidays.
The report submitted by the committee, a copy of which is available with The News, contains some startling revelations.
The inquiry committee found that there have been no rules in ETEA under which any by-laws and standard operating procedures could be formulated for smooth and transparent functioning of the agency.
It revealed there is no job description of any officer including the executive director, director academics, deputy directors and other officials of ETEA.
In the absence of legal formalities, internal control was lacking, which resulted in severe mismanagement at every step in the agency.
Most seriously, there is no approved and notified list of the subject experts, who along with the director academics are responsible for the whole process, including selecting the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), finalisation of the paper and its checking.
The report noted that an un-notified secret panel of 10 subject experts was in place, which has been kept so secret by the director academics that even the executive director was not aware of the details of the subject experts. The names and details of the experts were not provided to committee despite repeated requests, saying that they had not given the list even to police.
The report mentions that the 10 experts were engaged in all steps starting from collection of MCQs till finalisation of the paper and then its review on the day of the test. The experts are so strong that they even do not provide the reference key to ETEA for confirmation that the MCQs have been taken from approved text books or otherwise.
The committee found out that the experts are aware of the final papers weeks before the test. The inquiry report says: “It can be safely concluded that the complete ETEA paper is leaked at least two weeks before the test to these 10 subject experts every year who are neither employees of the agency nor are held responsible.”
As their names are secret and undisclosed, it is possible that they might be directly or indirectly connected with coaching academies, the report pointed out. It said their relatives may also appear in the test. It added that the MCQs bank is also very thin and these experts are even involved in selection of the 200 MCQs for the papers.
“For the test held on September 30, the 200 MCQs were selected by the director academics from a bank of 560 MCQs with the help of the subject specialists, which means that the paper was leaked to the subject specialists at least a week ago,” the report stated.
The report also held the agency responsible for negligence and casual attitude of the subject experts due to which two MCQs were declared incorrect on the day of the test. It argued that the recruitment of invigilation staff is also done in a careless manner and they are not provided proper training.
The report recommended removal of the panel of 10 subject specialists and their replacement with a broad-based panel consisting of reasonable number of experts.
The inquiry report also suggested legal proceedings against the subject experts and director academics for their alleged involvement in the paper leakage.
“All the record from these officials should be recovered and handed over to investigation agencies so that their past contacts with coaching academies and admission of their relatives into professional colleges could be properly investigated,” the report recommended.
It also recommended that their assets should be crosschecked with their known source(s) of income.
The inquiry report stressed the need for making proper rules and legislation for the smooth and transparent function of ETEA.