KARACHI, March 8: The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) annual examinations could not be held on Monday at some centres set up at schools in Malir and Gadap towns due to forced closure of these centre.

Officials of education board and city government's education department said that enraged people arrived at these centres and pressurized the examination staff there to put off the examinations for the day, as they were mourning the death of MPA Abdullah Murad, who was killed along with his driver on Saturday morning in Malir area.

The SSC annual examinations commenced, with the holding of papers for failures, on Monday. Reports of agitation at educational institutions in Lyari were also received, but the authorities maintained that the matriculation examinations were, however, held at centres there.

A senior examination official of the Board of Secondary Education said that examination proceedings remained peaceful at all centres, except at some centres in Malir and Gadap areas. He said that it was expected that examinations would be held as per schedule on Tuesday, at all the centres, including those which were disturbed on Monday.

It was learnt that the examinations at some other centres were delayed from 15 to 25 minutes due to traffic jam in some parts of the city. Examinations were held only in the morning shift on Monday as per schedule.

The board official said that he was informed by a couple of centre superintendents from Malir and Gadap that agitated group of people entered their premises and snatched answer scripts and question papers, which were already handed over to candidates in examination rooms.

To a question, he said that candidates who could not appear in English paper due to disturbances at centres could appear again, along with fresh students of Class IX, in the said papers scheduled to be held later.

It is believed that about half of the 20 centres set up in Gadap and Malir towns were disturbed and as such about 1,000 candidates could not attempt their papers. The group leaders of BSE had delivered question papers in affected areas before the examination time, claimed an official of the board.