Brief background of these exams.

A-levels and O-levels are a examination system governed and initiated by Cambridge International University, England. A-Level’s is equivalent to the first two years of College study and O-level’s is equivalent to last 3 years of schooling in Pakistan. These are international exams held under the supervision of Cambridge University and is recognized all over the world, due to its competitive marking and paper pattern. It assembles a student for the upcoming challenging practical life and provide various tactics to overcome the problem faced in the real life. The syllabus content is updated regularly for the ease of students to progress at the same pace as the world progresses. It encourages students to work passionately to improve their concepts as the paper is purely conceptual, no sign of rote learning and repetition of past papers is purely coincidental. The principal advantage of A-Level’s is the freedom of choice that they offer. Most pupils study three A-level’s subjects and there are no specific requirements for which subjects a pupil should study. A levels allow pupils considerable freedom to specialize in the subjects that really interest them and which are more closely related to the course that they might aspire to study at university.
A-level’s gives you a broader view of the subject in comparison to FSc. FSc is much more straight forward in terms of the questions that comes up on the exam paper( almost like a memory test), where as A-level’s is not. A-level’s exams will test you on how well you can perform when given a new scenario that you have never came across and apply your knowledge from your course and from the information given about the new scenario to answer the question.

A-Level’s students are definitely seen as more confident, skillful, knowledgeable, and reflective.  A-Level’s, will no doubt, give you a chance to stand out take out your abilities, as well as teach you how to apply the knowledge you learn in practical situations. Moreover, A Level prepares you for university. The education system develops habits like thoroughly studying, building concepts, understand the syllabus material and not just memorizing it, approaching situations with critical thinking, and so on, all of which will be immensely useful once you enter the more advanced level at university.

Problems faced by students opting A-level’s and O-level’s in Pakistan.

The problems faced by these students are vast in number, but starting with the most important problem. The number of A-level’s students who may get admission in medical and engineering college each year is expected to be too small as compared to FSc students, as a result these unsuccessful students have no option other than to go abroad for further studies. Students who could not clear the entry test will be left with no option but to go abroad for studies as their qualifications are internationally recognized and they can get admission in the top educational institutions of the world but unluckily not in Pakistan, this leads to brain drain in the country as most of them never come back as they are flooded with opportunities there. It is all owing to the Inter Board of Chairmen Committee’s decision to put a seal of 990 marks(maximum) on the A level students while many FSc students are now getting more than 1,050 marks leaving no room for them.
Instead of stepping up to make our own systems to make it compatible with the world, our Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen has come up with a novel idea to reduce the better lot to below, through a system of equivalence that equates straight A’s with only 990 marks of our FSc. The entry test consists entirely of the syllabus contents of FSc, which is also not fair. They are discouraging the A-level’s students when they are not accepting their marks. The best and the brightest students of this country, many of whom have achieved distinctions and high grades after competing with students from across the world, wherein they may not be able to further study in their own country. The discriminatory policy of IBCC is making the students and their parents run from pillar to post but to no avail, which ends up that they are either studying in a private institute or going abroad for higher studies.

Thousands of A-level’s students face disappointment and feel discouraged as they may be unable to get admission in medical colleges and other professional colleges as many FSc students are now getting more than 1,050 marks leaving no room for them. Also the entry test are based on FSc and they have little time to prepare for them. Giving equivalence to foreign qualification as well as that of holding of entry tests for admission to medical and other professional colleges is totally unfair. Pakistan is drowning his own youth. Government officials must take measures to ensure a uniform educational system or to improve their educational system so to encourage more students to opt FSc system over Cambridge, yet we are wasting our time on how to degrade our own youth, through these drastic measures.

The problem mentioned above is not only the problem faced, the worse is yet to come. As it’s an international exams, they require separate type of teaching methods, methodology which is quite different from the educational system of Pakistan, thus it requires specific trained instructors with a vast amount of experience to tackle the problems. Thus they demand an amount which is not affordable for a middle class family. Moreover, the registration fee for the exams starts from 15000 to 25000, depending on the type of paper. The books, helping material, past papers, online resources are relatively expensive than FSc.

Comparison of Cambridge and FSc System

FSc syllabus hasn’t been upgraded for like 5 or 6 decades. The same books and the material covered by the grandparents and parents are studied by the student of the 21st century, with the same style of rote learning. The covers are changed yearly but no one had taken an initiative to change the contents of the syllabus to be covered. The instructors have full grip on the paper pattern and some literally know which question would have 100 percent chances to appear in exams. The local board of education should realize that students must be aware of the new theories and ideologies that had been introduced throughout the years. The same old format of paper checking is carried out, in which a examiner marks the papers by matching the answer word to word with the text scripted in the text books. Once checked, students don’t have the right to challenge the marking of the examiner. This step encourages them to check the paper roughly like, leaving some questions unchecked or crossing the whole question without any solid reason.

Cambridge University has a policy to regularly update the syllabus contents to improvise the students minds and just to ensure safe and sound examinations. This measures contradict with the guesses floated by the instructors. Papers are purely conceptual and students have to be prepared for how well he could perform, when a new scenario is given, that they had never came across and apply your knowledge from your course and from the information given about the new scenario to answer the question. In this system, we can verify our papers by ordering extra marked copied from the Cambridge and we can challenge the marking of the examiner. Only one question from a paper is marked by a person, with a provided mark scheme which is used to mark the questions. The mark scheme provides an idea for the questions to be answered in any way. There is no restrictions on using our own words to express our ideas. Rote learning is because it is commonly believed that the more pages you fill during the exam, the better grade you would receive.  In A Levels, the students do not have to memorize pages and pages of details; instead, learning just the relevant facts and figures and conveying the information in their own words would suffice. This is a very effective approach as it allows them to be creative with words and broadens their horizons. The student’s mind starts working and develops good analytical skills which are very useful for professional life.

Coming to the practicals, the pattern of practical in FSc is a bit strange, as compared to A levels. During the practical, one has to just answer the questions asked by the examiner which could be related to his personal life. Only a student has to be confident and he would be awarded 90 marks, very very simple. The invigilators for practicals are usually bribed by students and they buy completed lab books from the market which show they’ve done some experiments which they have to submit to the board. In contrast to FSc, A-level has a different approach to practicals. They are conducted under the supervision of a qualified Lab assistant. Every year, a new type of experiment is performed related to course. The instructor has to perform the same experiment for the comparison with the students.

Cambridge exams enlightens certain qualities in a student which are beneficial for them in the long run. They starts to seem the world in a different manner and start visualizing certain phenomenons. But in contrast FSc students has to rote learn the stuff, which causes their mind to rust, thus when a situation is presented in front of them they fail to visualize it.

As A-level’s is recognized all over the world, these students are preferred over FSc students in international renowned universities, so more are admitted in foreign top class institutes, whereas FSc students have to clear different English language proficiency tests for the same purpose like IELTS and TOEFL, Cambridge exams certificates attract the universities to these students and make their CV out of the bunch.

There is no limit to number of subjects you can take. Minimum of 8 (or 7) subjects in O-levels’s and 3 subjects in A-level’s are required. A-level’s feels a lot lighter as compared to FSc. The students has to opt their interest of subject and just focus on them. This is the main advantage of A levels over FSc system. FSc has some compulsory subjects (e.g. English, Urdu, Islamiat) which are irrelevant to a lot of fields and have no benefit to a Engineer or Doctor. The list of the courses offered by the Cambridge University is limitless, ranging from French, Music etc.

Considering the merits you get with A-Level’s, it will be much wiser to go for A-Level’s instead of the local FSc.  Moreover, chances of getting a job are much higher with A- Level’s, since you have developed skills needed to cope in practical life and because employers love A-Level’s. Everyone realizes the worth there is in the students taking A- Level’s, it is definitely going to make you stand out among other candidates.

Which to choose under different circumstances???

Both of the educational system have certain pros and cons. A student at the beginning of 8th class is confused between which system to opt, which could benefit him on the long run. So a career counseling sessions for these students to be arranged, in which students be urged to move further only when you are completely satisfied. Don’t rush on your decisions and try to take advice from a person who had witnessed the same problem during his time.

If a student is financially stable and could afford the large expenses of these exams and it’s preparation, moreover; he want to move to abroad for higher studies, furthermore; he has the ability to cope up with the style of conceptual learning of Cambridge university. Then a person should definitely opt Cambridge examination system as eventually it could be beneficial for them. But, if a student is not financially stable and couldn’t afford such large expenses of these exams and it’s preparation or has no intentions to move to abroad for higher studies and is just okay in the studies, FSc is the best option.