KARACHI, Sept 6: The Board of Intermediate Education on Monday announced separate results of HSC Commerce annual examinations-2004 for regular and private students with a pass percentages of 63.19 and 44.73, respectively.
The top-three positions among the regular candidates were bagged by three girls and one boy, while in the case of private candidates these were clinched by two boys and one girl. The overall pass percentage in the both categories registered an increase by 15 per cent as compared to that in the last year.
According to the BIE statistics, as many as 16,063 candidates, including 5200 girls, appeared in the regular group examination, out of which 10,151 candidates, including 4,129 girls, were declared pass. Last year a total of 23 candidates were awarded A-1 grade, while this year only 19 could fall in the category.
In the private group, as many as 5,712 candidates, including 1,100 girls, took the examination, while 2,555, including 433 girls were declared pass. None of the candidates could get A-1 grade.
A student of the Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Sameen Sadaf, seat no 313578, clinched first position in the category of regular candidates by securing 929 out of 1100 marks.
Hiba Hasnat, seat no 312815, of the Commecs Institute of Business Education bagged second position. The third position was shared by two students belonging to the Government College of Commerce and Economics and Commecs Institute of Business Education, Saadia Younus Abdullah, seat no 311755, and Badar Yousuf, seat no 308173.
Results of 135 candidates in the regular group were withheld. In private category, Muhammad Farhan Khalid, seat no 330465, Aziz Ahmad, seat no 330405, got first and second position, respectively.
The two students maintained that they were admitted to a private institutions, but had to appear as private candidates as their educational institutions failed to get affiliated with the board in time.
The third position went to Zohra Kanwal Ahmed, seat no 333835, who secured 789 marks. Results of 69 candidates were withheld. The breakdown of successful candidates in the two groups is as follows:
Regular boys: A-1 grade (3), A grade (142), B grade (606), C grade (1,831), D grade (2,953), E grade (487).
Regular girls: A-1 grade (16), A grade (368), B grade (978), C grade (1,575), D grade (1,128) and E grade (64).
Private boys: A grade (4), B grade (77), C grade (544), D grade (1,269), E grade (228).
Private girls: A grade (4), B grade (52), C grade (226), D grade (117), E grade (34).
Off the 185 colleges and higher secondary schools, there were 22 institutions, including 20 those in the private sector, whose results remained 100 per cent. However 12 of those institutions sent up less than nine students in the examinations.
There were three institutions, all in the private sector, which gave dismal results, while results of 23 institutions, including 10 government institutions, remained less than 30 per cent.
Referring to the performance of the government institutions in the commerce group examinations, the EDO (Higher Secondary Education), Prof Rais Alvi, said that there could be further improvement in the results, provided the shortage of teachers was removed.
To another question, the EDO said that he would look into the matter that how a private institution reportedly admitted students and collected fees from them without having affiliation with the board.
In the regular group of candidates, the first position holder, Sameen Sadaf, claimed that cheating in the examinations, even in the case of women students, was alarming and the phenomena needed to be rectified by the examination staff. She, who wanted be a chartered accountant, observed that course outlines of ICom were very attractive, but textbooks were not updated.
The second position holder, Hiba Hasnat, who also wanted to become a chartered accountant, said more multiple-choice questions should be included in the HSC commerce examinations, while IT education should be imparted in a meaningful manner at every institution.
The third position holder from a government college, Saadia Younus, said that though her college was not up to the mark with respect to library services and IT laboratories, she would like to continue her education in the same college. The availability of experienced and senior teachers was a significant issue in the government educational institutions, she added.
Badar Yousuf, who shared the third position with Saadia, said the cost of education was high at private institutions, but the quality and competence of their students compensated that altogether. She was of the view that cheating in examinations could be eliminated only if the students wanted to do so.
The chairman of the board, Prof Iftikhar Zaidi, and Controller of Examination, Prof Mohammad Amin Khalid, appreciated the students for their achievements and announced that the board would continue its efforts to enhance the credibility and quality of examinations.
