Dhaka University (DU) is considering introducing a two-stage admission test, with the multiple-choice question (MCQ) exam held at universities across Bangladesh and the written test conducted on the DU campus for top scorers, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The proposal was discussed at a meeting on admission matters on Tuesday, chaired by the vice-chancellor and attended by the pro-vice-chancellors, deans, and other university administrators, the sources said.
The meeting also gave in-principle approval to introducing a separate English-medium question set for the KA Unit admission test and appointing an additional examiner for every four answer scripts. Subject to approval by the Central Admission Committee in August, the measures aim to encourage greater participation from English-medium students and improve the quality of marking.
Several departments and faculties proposed holding the MCQ portion of the admission test at universities across the country, as is currently practiced, while conducting the written examination on the DU campus.
However, no decision was made on the proposal, and it was not forwarded to the Central Admission Committee, as the university does not want to introduce multiple major changes in a single academic year.
Professor Dr. Abdus Salam (Academic) told Dhaka Tribune: "The idea was that students would take an MCQ exam across Bangladesh, and then the top performers in the MCQ—say, around 25,000 students—would come to Dhaka University to sit for the written exam."
"Almost all the departments proposed this, but we didn't want to make such a big change this year," he added.
Asked when the proposal could be implemented, Dr. Abdus Salam said it could happen next year or the year after.
"Many departments and faculties want the admission test to be held in two stages because they believe it would help select higher-quality students. It would also ensure a better environment for the written examination, as the way the exam is conducted at Dhaka University may not be replicated at universities elsewhere. This would help overcome those inconsistencies," he said.
Earlier, Dhaka University revised the structure of its admission test for the 2019-20 academic year. The changes included allocating 60% of the marks to the MCQ section and 40% to the written portion.
Before those changes, the admission test carried a total of 200 marks, with 120 marks allocated to the MCQ section and the remaining 80 based on applicants' SSC and HSC grade point averages (GPAs).