Iran: University Entrance Exam in New Format Held

The National Organization of Educational Testing held the first round of the formerly annual university entrance exam, known as Konkour, on Thursday and Friday in a bid to give pupils a fairer chance of competing for seats in top-tier universities. 
For the first time in the history of Konkour, the life-changing test was held in winter, with the second round expected to be taken in early summer, ISNA reported. 
Head of the NOET, Abdolrasoul Abbaspour, stated that “I ask candidates to attend both rounds of the exam to try their luck.”
Over 978,000 students registered for the first exam to compete in disciplines including mathematics, art and sciences. 
Abbaspour pointed out, “The test’s final results will come out in September.”
Initial results are scheduled to be released in March. 
On top of its major shift into a biannual exam, other sweeping changes have been made by the order of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. 
These include the omission of general courses such as Arabic and Persian literature from the exam and the extension of the test result’s validation period to two years. 
Over the next few years, student records during their final school year will progressively play a more important role in their final Konkour results. 
Head of the Islamic Azad University, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, said that he preferred the current format to the former style. 
“Holding Konkour in this way is better for all candidates and will result in better choices,” he added. 
The two-time chance to take Konkour is expected to reduce considerable pressure on students who had to wait a whole year for another chance at the exam if any problems arose on test day. 
Internet was blocked in and around test centers to prevent cheating, a major problem every year as some test takers found illegal access to the carefully-designed questions beforehand.