Direct Entry Exam Route Scrapped, Thousands of University Applicants Affected

The National Higher Education Council (NHEC) has announced the immediate cancellation of its "Direct Entry Assessment Pathway" (DEAP), an alternative university admissions route that bypassed traditional year-end examinations. The decision, effective immediately, has thrown thousands of prospective university students into uncertainty, forcing them to rapidly adjust their application strategies for the upcoming academic year.

Introduced three years ago as a pilot program, the DEAP was designed to offer students a "non-contingency" route to higher education. It allowed applicants to gain provisional university admission based on continuous assessment, portfolio submissions, and interviews conducted throughout their final year of secondary school, rather than solely relying on high-stakes national examinations. Proponents hailed it as an innovative step towards recognizing diverse talents and reducing examination stress.

However, in a terse statement issued late yesterday, Professor Anya Sharma, Director of Admissions Policy at the NHEC, cited "concerns regarding standardization and equitable assessment practices across participating institutions" as the primary reason for the pathway's discontinuation. "Following a comprehensive review, it became evident that maintaining the integrity and fairness of university admissions required a return to more standardized evaluation methods," Professor Sharma stated. "The DEAP, while well-intentioned, presented inconsistencies that could not be fully reconciled without fundamentally altering its non-contingency nature."