KARACHI - The NED University of Engineering and Technology on Sunday conducted the entry test to select the eligible candidates for admissions for the academic year of 2009-10. Any mishap was not reported during the test, despite the fact that as many as 6,154 candidates were appeared in the test that was started on the given time at 10am and ended at 12noon. Registrar NED University Engineer Javed Aziz Khan told The Nation that NED, which considered as one of oldest institutions in Pakistan of engineering, offered undergraduate programmes in 19 engineering disciplines along with one each in Architecture and in Information Technology. For this purpose there are 1,833 seats available in the varsity, out of which 1,600 were specific for merit-based admissions, while 233 admissions will be given on self-finance basis, he said. The university used carbon copy in the test to enable candidates to have a copy of their performance. He said the results would be issued after eight hours from the completion of test and can be viewed at the official website of the university. Khan said that to face any health-related situation during the test, the administration had formed a medical team comprising on four doctors and 8 paramedical staff while two ambulances were also on alert. Juices have also been distributed among the candidates and invigilators to keep them calm and fresh. About two per cent marks will be given to those candidates who are Hafiz-e-Quran. To facilitate the candidates, around 12 blocks had been constituted while each block was divided into 16 cells. About 30 candidates were seated in each cell, he added. NO SEPARATE LAND FOR NEW DISCIPLINES Vice Chancellor NED University Engineer Abul Kalam told the reporters that the university had no plan to enhance the number of disciplines because the administration wanted to maintain the standard of the existing disciplines. On other hand, the varsity has no separate land for starting new disciplines, he said and added that during the last 12 years the varsity administration had increased the number of seats from 600 to 1,833, while it would reach 2,000 seats in coming years. It is pertinent to mention here that the university is also offering 27 Masters level postgraduate programmes and this number is also increasing each year. At present, the programmes for Doctoral studies are restricted to faculty members. The NED university is implementing its wide-ranging development programme in which its demands for faculty development are of such intensity that they leave no room for offering doctorate programmes for external candidates. STUDENTS, TEACHERS CRITICISE USE OF LOUDSPEAKERS BY STUDENTS WINGS Teachers and candidates, appearing in the test, have criticised over the use of loudspeakers from the camps of students political wings during the test. As per the complaints of candidates, use of loudspeakers has caused immense problems for students while performing their test. Students political wings had setup their camps outside the varsity to facilitate the candidates and enhance their strength.