The Ministry of Education has allowed the students of pre-engineering to switch to medical with a condition of taking Biology as an additional subject.
The sources from the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training asserted that the issue was taken up after students had lodged complaints on Citizen’s Portal. The matter was taken up with the National Curriculum Council. In the meeting, it was decided that pre-engineering students who have passed their FSc could switch over to pre-medical if they pass the additional subject of biology.
With approval from the NCC, it was decided that pre-engineering students who have passed their FSc could switch over to pre-medical if they pass the additional subject of biology.https://t.co/j5Ptv6XwF0
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) November 5, 2019
A notification, which was signed on Oct 31 and distributed among the stakeholders on Monday, stated: “National scheme of studies at higher education secondary school certificate (HSSC) level has been designed as a package containing several subjects necessary to qualify for HSSC.”
As of now, students of pre-medical students are allowed to switch to engineering with an additional subject of mathematics but there was no such provision for pre-engineering students earlier.
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It added: “To remove disparity and facilitate the students passing the pre-engineering group, the National Curriculum Council reviewed the existing rules/policy/scheme of study and allowed the students passing pre-engineering group to appear in the additional subject of biology to switch over to the pre-medical group.
Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) Chairman Dr. Ikram Ali Malik confirmed the notification to a local publication. He, however, added that according to the scheme of the study 200 hours of practical work was involved in biology at FSc level so the board will have to decide how practical work would be covered by students.
Pre-engineering students allowed to switch to medical with one additional subject https://t.co/dScGf3jE58
— Qas (@QasimIftik) November 5, 2019
He said that no education board in the country is so far offering this provision FBISE will be the first one to introduce the facility.
A source in the Education Ministry, however, rebuffed the concerns expressed by an FBISE official in the implementation of the notification.
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The source asserted that while the board is only responsible to conduct exam it is up to the students to show their ability. It is quite manageable for the students to cover the 200 hours of practical work for an additional subject of biology. Adding that, “They will appear in exams to be conducted by the board and if they prove good they will pass, so there should be no such confusion in this regard. Students should be given a chance to grow.”