Home ›› 29 Aug 2022 ›› Opinion
Medical college admission test results were published on April 4, 2022 in Bangladesh. After that, the names, faces and places of the top rankers selected for admission are seen on street posters of various coachings. Seeing the same student in three or more coaching posters indicates that all the credits for these achievements are due to the coaching centres where the values and dignity of the top talents are questionable! According to academics, education without values and dignity is no education.
Again the one-hour MCQ exam which plays a major role in the medical entrance exam reflects only the lowest level of knowledge. According to the world poet Rabindranath Tagore, “Passing by memorization is plagiarism (Mukhosto koriya pass koraito chourjobr̥itti).” So this traditional mode of examination is beneficial for some privileged groups where the students are held, hostage. It is calculated that the probability of getting selected for admission to Bangladesh Government Medical College or BUET or Dhaka University is 0.03. It is an event of the close probability of going to the Sun, which can be called highly unlikely. If this level can be brought to a reasonable level by separating the highly qualified students who have merit as well as values and dignity through proper assessment, then the path of millions of frustrated talented students can be enlightened.
In 2011, a student named Jessica was selected for admission to a medical college in Canada. Jessica completed three years of the Chemistry programme. She had 30 courses with a full course load (100%) per academic year. She obtained an A+ in each course. Among these courses, there were Mathematics, Physics and Biology prescribed for medical. Jessica had to volunteer at the hospital every summer vacation. Thus, through the assessment of 33 university-level teachers, Jessica gradually became hopeful about medicine. Jessica then took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and scored the highest score. He had to submit an essay on his plans. After all, he passed the oral exam and gained entry into medical school. This approach to Canadian medical admissions, which involves long-term assessment of a student’s desired behaviours, assessment of knowledge levels, and hands-on task skills, is called Outcome-Based Education (OBE)- assessment.
26 students of BBA, 3rd Semester, Winter-2022, University of Global Village (UGV), Barishal have done their research work under my supervision. They were associated with me through the Business Statistics course. My question pattern was traditional in the Mid-term exam. During the answer sheet evaluation, I was embarrassed because there was no significant difference in marks between the best student and the weakest student in the class. But in the semester final exam, my question type was according to the classification of an American educational psychologist named Bloom, where each step of the 6 levels of cognitive domain was asked using action verbs as shown in Fig. The invigilator assessed the student’s behaviour (Affective domain) during the examination. At the same time, the students were informed that if they wanted to get the highest grade, they would have to present a project of their own creation that would assess the student’s hand-to-hand skills (Psychomotor domain). Out of 26 students, only 3 presented the project to me within the specified time. Presenting the project within the specified time was a reflection of the student’s behaviour. An expected difference in marks was observed between the best student and the weakest student in the class during the answer sheet evaluation. This was consistent with the highest grade achieved by the 3 students who submitted the projects.
Bangabandhu, the greatest Bengali of all time, was created in public assessment where he had to face the test of sacrifice for a long period. Through OBE assessment it is possible to distinguish high-ability students who have merit as well as values and dignity. A short-term test cannot separate BUET’s Abrar assassination from the supremely talented. Let these most respectable educational institutions, run by public funds, be the breeding ground of true learning. Through the “OBE” system, learners’ behaviour, hands-on skills and knowledge can be developed and measured with certainty. To transform Bangladesh into a developed country, 70 million workable people should be educated in real education and evaluated accordingly, which is Vision 2041 of Prime Minister Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina. The government’s high-level statement to introduce the OBE system, University Grants Commission (UGC) and Bangladesh Accreditation Council (BAC) educational workshops, are very important and admirable. It is very difficult to start this new education system from the traditional education system. Nevertheless, through professional and open discussion, we can make this new education system more accessible to all.
The writer is Professor and Controller of Examinations, University of Global Village (UGV), Barishal. He can be contracted at mdfaridyorku@gmail.com
