Over 11500 candidates take entrance test at SU in 2nd phase

 The second phase of the pre-entry test for admission to more than 70 different bachelor degree programs for the academic year 2023 has been completed in Sindh University. As many as 11580 candidates including 3355 female and 8225 male students tried their luck for admissions in the second phase entrance test for around 10, 000 seats.

Candidates looking excited for admission to various disciplines of their choice at Sindh University Jamshoro and its campuses expressed their satisfaction on the arrangements made for the test and the facilities provided to them.

Vice-Chancellor Professor (Meritorious) Dr. Mohammad Siddique Kalhoro visited the campus and reviewed the examination process. He went through the exam halls to inspect the arrangements and asked the candidates about the facilities provided to them including water, biscuits and pens. He also enquired them about the complexity of the question paper which carried multiple choice questions.

During the visit of the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Bhutto, Director Admissions Prof. Dr. Ayaz Keerio, Prof. Dr. Hamadullah Kakepoto, Prof. Dr. Khalil ur Rehman Khoumbhati, Prof. Dr. Arfana Begum Mallah, Prof. Dr. Misbah Bibi Qureshi, Prof. Dr. Javed Ahmed Chandio, Ahsanullah Shah Rashdi, Professor Saeed Ahmed Mangi, Dr. Muhammad Younis Leghari, Abdul Majeed Panhwar, Amar Sindhu, Dr. Rabia Asma Memon and others were accompanying him.

Starting at 10 am, the entrance test continued for 90 minutes. For the entrance test, separate examination blocks were set up for 3355 female students in the Institute of Microbiology, Institute of Biochemistry, Institute of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, Department of Media & Communication Studies and Institute of English Language and Literature, while for 8225 male candidates, the exam halls were established in Arts Faculty Building, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Engineering & Technology and Institute of Physics.

Apart from it, separate examination halls were established in the Institute of Art & Design for a total of 308 candidates, including 85 girls and 223 boys. These were the candidates who remained absent in the first phase of the entrance test held on October 30.

In the second phase of the entrance test, the candidates 11,580 in number hailed from 10 districts of Sindh which included Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiyari, Thatta and Sujawal ventured their luck for admission to nearly 10,000 seats.

Speaking at a press conference at the Institute of Art and Design after the onset of the entry test, Sindh University Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Meritorious) Dr. Muhammad Siddique Kalhoro said that various committees under the convener-ship of the senior professors and officers were constituted to conduct the two phases of the pre-entry test in the best way, which yielded positive results.

“Due to the excellent performance of the conveners and their team members, the second phase of the test has also been completed successfully”, the Vice-Chancellor said.

Talking on scholarship opportunities at Sindh University, he said that he had over Rs. 300 million in form of scholarships among 4,000 students on the campus. “We want every child to get a scholarship because the poorest students study here at SU”, he said.

Dr. Kalhoro said that the University of Sindh was not only a degree awarding institution, but it had been trying to inculcate knowledge and skills in students so that they might get jobs from the national job market and start businesses.

He said that with the support of the federal IT ministry, the National Incubation Center (NIC) had been established at the Elsa Qazi Campus of Sindh University in Hyderabad, which had started its work in the professional way.

“Through this center, fresh graduates of Sindh University will be trained and oriented towards business as well as entrepreneurship”, the Vice-Chancellor said and added that the youth will be able to start their own small & large enterprises with the help of IT and other modern techniques, through which they could become millionaires instead of wasting time in pursuing government jobs after completing higher education.

He said that the National Incubation Center will help them build their career. Dr. Kalhoro said that by holding the test in two phases, the costs were reduced and the candidates did not have to face any problems due to the lack of rush.

He said that despite the recent flood devastation in Sindh, more candidates submitted their applications for admission to different BS programs in comparison with the last year, which in fact showed an expression of confidence of the students in the growing reputation of the University of Sindh.

He said that for the academic year 2023, a total of 23513 candidates, including 20413 for bachelor and 3085 for master degree programs, applied for admissions at Sindh University, which was a big number, while the number of applicants for admission in the rest of the universities of the province he said had significantly decreased compared to last year.

Dr. Kalhoro further said that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Islamabad did not increase the budget of the university by even a single penny from 2015 till now, due to which the university was suffering from crisis.

He said that the Sindh government had definitely increased the budget of the Alma Mater during the last two to three years, but the institution still needed more funds in order to control the lack of an annual budget of Rs. one billion.

During the entrance test, temporary medical dispensaries were established in various examination centers including the Department of Media & Communication Studies, Arts Faculty Building, Department of Zoology and Institute of English Language & Literature, while ambulances were also arranged to deal with emergency situations. Foolproof security arrangements were also made and the candidates were provided with a very friendly and peaceful environment during the test.

Focal persons of various campuses and the Deans of different Faculties were present to witness the pre-entrance test.

The entire control room was established at the office of the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Hamadullah Kakepoto. On the other hand, the sitting places for male visitors were arranged at Fatima Jinnah Girls Gymnasium and for females at Syed Panah Ali Shah Model School.

The parents were provided with bottles of mineral water, while the test takers were also provided with drinking water bottles, biscuits and ball pens. The candidates and their parents expressed happiness over the arrangements made by the Sindh University administration for the smooth conduct of the entry test. They went into raptures over the entire discipline and exam system including security.