National Testing Service

National Testing Service
Native name
نیشنل ٹیسٹنگ سروس
Company typePublic
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
HeadquartersPlot 96, Street 4, H-8/1, Islamabad
Key people
  • Tahir Aqeel (CEO)
  • Muhammad Siddique (Company secretary)
Products
  • Graduate Assessment Test - General
  • Graduate Assessment Test - Subject
  • Law Graduate Assessment Test
  • National Aptitude Test
  • National Teachers Database Program
  • Medical Representatives Certification Program
ServicesStandardized testing
Revenue
  • Decrease Rs.515,673,673 (2021)
  • Rs.849,301,065 (2020)
  • Decrease Rs.570,159,112 (2021)
  • Rs.879,389,963 (2020)
  • Decrease Rs.21,241,599 (2021)
  • Rs.57,843,010 (2020)
Total assets
  • Increase Rs.1,731,571,444 (2021)
  • Rs.1,698,505,096 (2020)
Websitents.org.pk

National Testing Service - Pakistan (NTS) is a nonprofit organization in Pakistan that administers academic performance evaluation tests. It is similar to Educational Testing Service (ETS) in the United States. NTS is a member of the International Association for Educational Assessment.[1] It is also recognized by the Higher Education Commission.

NTS offers two main types of tests, the National Aptitude Test (NAT) and the Graduate Assessment Test (GAT). NAT is aimed at students seeking admission to colleges and universities, whereas GAT is aimed at graduates seeking admission to postgraduate education. NTS exams are also used to determine qualifications of students seeking advanced study abroad.[2]

NTS was formed to ensure quality educational standards in Pakistan and to "provide a national scale for comparative grading between institutes",[3] consolidating examination boards under one administrating body.[4] According to Shahid Siddiqui, director of The Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore School of Economics, tests implemented prior to the development of the NTS were criticized as not accommodating socio-cultural differences, resulting in a need for "an indigenous testing service that should design and develop testing materials within an indigenous context".[5] Prominent Pakistani institutions like COMSATS University (CU), Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering (CASE) and the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) have made it compulsory for students seeking admission to have cleared tests conducted by NTS.[6][7]

  1. ^ "International Networking and Collaboration | NTS". nts.org.pk. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  2. ^ Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Education. (2 May 2006). Cuba to sponsor 1000 Pakistani students for medical studies Archived 5 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Ministry of Education, Pakistan; official website. Accessed 10 January 2008.
  3. ^ Atta-ur-Rahman, Federal Minister for Science and Technology. (8 September 2001) IT – a great opportunity Archived 3 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Government of Sindh, official website. Accessed 10 January 2008.
  4. ^ Revolutionary steps get nod for educational regime[permanent dead link]. Pakistan Observer. (9 August 2007) Accessed 10 January 2008.
  5. ^ Siddiqui, Shahid. (1 October 2007). Assessing assessment. The International News. Accessed 10 January 2008.
  6. ^ "CASE Admissions". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  7. ^ "BZU Admissions". Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2008.