ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Senate was informed on Friday that more than 18.7 million candidates from reputable associates and partner institutions and organizations have appeared in the National Testing Service (NTS) tests since its inception.
The Minister for Science and Technology informed the House in reply to a question by the Senator Sirajul Haq that NTS has over 15 years of experience in educational and professional testing and assessment.
The minister said that by February 2018, NTS has administered 7055 tests and assessments in various disciplines for educational assessment, scholarships, recruitments and promotion purposes.
The House was informed that NTS is not owned by any individual or specific person as it is a not for profit organization and registered with Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) as a section 42 Company under the companies ordinance 1984. It was told that the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) is promoter organization of NTS.
In reply to another question, the House was informed that there is no statuary law which allows NTS to conduct the exams; however, government organizations and departments carry out recruitment by hiring the services of third party testing and assessment service providers of which NTS is only one such organization.
The Senate was told that there are around 22 testing and assessment service providers across Pakistan. Most of these are private limited companies with private individuals as their owners.
It was informed that the need for government organizations and departments to acquire services of third party testing and assessment service providers is based on the policy as laid down by the Establishment Division.
