10 April 2004	Saturday	19 Safar 1425

KARACHI, April 9: Educational boards in the province would start conducting HSC annual exams on two different dates and all the related results would be given by Aug 16.

This was decided at a meeting of the provincial steering committee held on Friday, with the officiating secretary of education department, Abdul Karim Surohi, in the chair. The meeting considered the reported deviation from its resolution pertaining to examination dates.

Sources privy to the meeting said that the steering committee upheld an earlier approval given to the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi about two weeks back by the education secretary regarding changes in the exam dates. The meeting observed that any reverse to secretary's grant to the board could generate chaos among students.

The meeting was informed that in view of a communication mistake, the Karachi board had planned its examinations from April 28, which was later authenticated by education secretary on the personal requests of the BIEK chairman. However, any record in that regard was not available with the department.

It was learnt that the education secretary, who is presently on a foreign trip, had written down the favourable comments on the paper submitted before him by the board official. However, he failed to keep its copy for official purposes.

In the larger interest of students, the steering committee agreed not to stress for any uniformity in dates of commencement of exams this time, said one of the participants of the meeting.

Now the boards, which had planned to conduct examinations from April 20, in line with the decision of the steering committee, have been advised to continue with their announced schedule, while BIEK can hold the examination from April 28 as agreed in the meeting, added the source.

The BIEK chairman, however, has agreed that his board would release the results of the exams within the period told by the steering committee, like other boards, irrespective of the fact that it would be conducting exams a bit later, it was further learnt.