QUETTA: The Aga Khan University (AKU) Examination Board (AKU-EB) conducted a formal opening ceremony that cemented the agreement, titled “Consultancy services for capacity development and technical support to the Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission”, that it has reached with the Government of Balochistan and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as part of the larger Balochistan Basic Education Programme funded by the European Union (EU). Under the terms of this agreement, AKU-EB would take on a technical support and capacity development role for several governmental assessment bodies in the province, including the Balochistan Assessment and Examination Commission (BAEC), the Bureau of Curriculum, Policy, Planning and Implementation Unit (PPIU), the Directorate of Schools, and the Professional Institute of Teacher Education (PITE).

Dr Shehzad Jeeva, Director, AKU-EB, welcomed the event’s attendees and stated: “It is a privilege and honour for the Aga Khan University Examination Board to be in a position where it is able to impart good practices in education to institutions that function in an area of Pakistan that demands greater national attention. The work that we undertake today shall serve as the foundation stone that tomorrow’s educational institutions will benefit from.”

The project will see AKU-EB spearhead a series of training exercises aimed at empowering employees of the aforementioned institutions and helping to strengthen the public education system of Balochistan.

A yearlong capacity development programme, to be conducted in Quetta and Karachi, will focus around student assessment consisting of four phases focusing on pre-exam activities, examination development, e-marking and post-examination activities. Separately, a workshop focusing on best practices in both management and administration of student assessment will be conducted for the benefit of District Education Officers from all areas of Balochistan.

The capacity development programme was developed based on the findings of a need assessment exercise conducted earlier this year by AKU-EB.

Dr Naveed Yousuf, Associate Director, Assessment, AKU-EB, who is also the director of this project, highlighted the importance of good assessment practices. “I have high hopes that the participants will be better able to contribute to the educational development of Balochistan by the end of this project,” he said. —PR