Dhaka University (DU) has made an in-principle decision to introduce a separate question set for English medium students in the KA Unit admission test.
The decision was taken at an admission-related meeting on Tuesday, chaired by the vice-chancellor and attended by the pro-vice-chancellors, deans, and other university administrators, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting also reached an in-principle decision to introduce an additional examiner for every four answer scripts in the written section of the admission test.
Both proposals will be placed before the Central Admission Committee in early August for final approval.
The separate question set will apply only to the KA Unit, which covers the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology, and the Institute of Information Technology.
According to a source familiar with the initiative, the curriculum followed by English medium students differs significantly from that of Bangla medium students. As a result, many English medium students do not sit for DU's admission tests and instead pursue higher education abroad.
To determine how merit scores would be calculated across the two question sets, the university earlier formed a five-member committee comprising deans from different faculties. The committee has since completed its work and submitted its recommendations.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Abdus Salam confirmed the proposal to Dhaka Tribune, saying it has not yet received final approval.
He said: "Discussions on possible changes to the admission process take place every year before the admission tests begin. This proposal emerged from those discussions."
He added that a similar arrangement already exists in the Business Studies Unit (C Unit), where English medium applicants take Advanced English instead of Bangla, while the remaining sections of the examination are the same for all candidates.
On the proposal to appoint an additional examiner, Abdus Salam said: "Sometimes when there's a single examiner, people say there's some confusion regarding the marking and the scoring. To overcome all these issues, we're planning to have an extra examiner review every four scripts so that the quality of the written portion improves."
