NED test results raise questions over Sindh boards

NED test results raise questions over Sindh boards

The admission test results of NED University have sparked fresh concerns about the academic standards and examination system of Sindh’s public education boards, particularly those in interior Sindh and the Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE).

Students from international education systems delivered the strongest performance in the university’s entrance examination, highlighting a significant gap between different examination boards. Candidates from foreign boards achieved the highest success rate at 95.65 percent, followed closely by Cambridge students with 94.32 percent. Students from the Aga Khan Education Board recorded an 88.84 percent success rate, while Federal Board candidates achieved 83.71 percent. Students from the Karachi Board also performed well, with a success rate of  79.91 percent.

In contrast, the performance of most public boards in Sindh remained well below these figures. The  Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE) recorded the weakest result, with only 13.95 percent of its candidates qualifying in the admission test.

Among the education boards in interior Sindh, Hyderabad Board posted a success rate of 46.83 percent, followed by Nawabshah Board at 42.03 percent, Mirpurkhas Board at 40.43 percent, Larkana Board at 36.71 percent, and Sukkur Board at 35.06 percent.

NED University Vice Chancellor Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodi said the results exposed serious concerns about the credibility of the current examination system. He noted that many students who had secured 70 to 80 percent or higher marks in their first-year intermediate examinations failed to qualify for the university’s admission test.

He said the large gap between board examination scores and entrance test performance raises important questions about the reliability of marks awarded by some education boards and the overall quality of assessment. The results, he added, underscore the need to review examination standards and improve the education system to ensure that students’ grades accurately reflect their academic abilities.