ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS: INIQUITOUS INSTRUMENT 87 The Form of the Examination Educationists concur that the assessment of the same individual when tested by different tests can vary.3 An examination which tests the ability to mechanically absorb information and reproduce the same at the time of the examination can be advantageous to some while a test which assesses the ability of the testee to comprehend a problem and identify an approach to solve it, based on the understanding of concepts, may favour others. The short duration multiple choice tests may assess yet another skill. So far no clear evidence seems to exist to show that a particular type of test is valid for the purpose of rejecting an applicant as unacceptable for a programme of study or for a job. Thus we have introduced an element of subjectivity through a particular choice of the form of the examination which choice is the result of historical reasons and personal preferences of the test administrators. Conditions of Examination We are all aware that in real life, problem solving does not have to take place without the benefit of consulting appropriate reference material or under highly artificial time constraint of 2 or 3 hours for solving several problems. The ability to perform better than others under such conditions can not necessarily be equated to potential better performance on the shop floor or in the R&D laboratory or across the negotiating table. But by insisting on time limits and denying access to reference material we have the second element of subjectivity creeping in the design of the examinations. The Language and Style Used in Wording Questions Much has been written about the issue of medium of instruction as well as about the deteriorating quality of teaching English in our schools and colleges.4 What are the implications to the issue under discussion? A candidate who may be competent in a particular discipline such as science or mathematics may still find himself at a disadvantage if he has to take more time to comprehend the questions in an entrance examination set in a language or idiom familiar to the examiner but alien to the candidate. Given such biases, which are not necessarily related to the final attributes needed on the job, entrance tests can hardly be characterized as objective. In academic parlance such tests as screening instruments may be reliable but not necessarily valid. What does this mean? VALIDITY OF ENTRACE TESTS CHALLENGED A screening instrument may be called reliable because of its ability to repeatedly identify the individuals with more or le?s similar competencies or skills. However, the same instrument may not necessarily be valid if these competencies or skills are not the only ones which are crucial for the performance in the programme or for the career for which selection is made.5 Worse still is the situation when