KARACHI: Composite exam issue to be settled by cabinet: Ibad
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 27: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan on Wednesday said that the issue of composite examination system for SSC candidates in the province was under active consideration of the Sindh cabinet.
Talking to newsmen after the inauguration of the digital library set up at the Dow University of Health Sciences, Dr Ibad said that any decision whether to hold Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in parts or not would come from the Sindh cabinet soon.
On the initiatives of the governor, the Sindh cabinet about nine months back had decided to reject the composite examination system introduced by the federal government, saying it was not suitable for students at the SSC and HSC level in the province and as such Sindh should go with the old system of annual examination.
Only last week governor had revealed to newsmen in a talk that he reaffirmed his previous stance on the subject and that was why he once again had referred the composite examination matter to the Sindh cabinet.
Replying to another question on Wednesday, the governor said that the government gave equal importance to all levels of education, but the situation pertaining to primary education could not be changed overnight. The government was aware of the problems of primary education in the public sector and was taking measures to uproot the causes behind them, which would surely start giving results in the coming years, he added.
In the meantime, the National Education Council Pakistan has opposed the federal government’s stance of doing away with the two separate examinations at the SSC level and warned that if the decision was not withdrawn, despite intervention by the Sindh governor, then it would surely mover the higher courts to get relief for Class IX and X students of the province.
Speaking at a press conference, Syed Khalid Shah, the chairman of the council, said on Wednesday that a delegation of school managements, which, under his leadership, called on the federal education minister Javed Ashraf Qazi last week to discuss, among other academic issues, the conduct of composite examinations, was shocked over the indifferent attitude of the minister.
Mr Qazi discussed all the issues with us except the composite examination, saying that only Sindh was demonstrating unreasonably (masti) against the new system of examination, Mr Shah informed the newsmen at a press conference.
He expressed his gratitude to the members of the assemblies of the four provinces, particularly the Sindh assembly, for standing besides the students and their parents demanding continuity of the two-examination system.
According to the NEC leader’s statement, the delegation suggested to the minister to make composite exams optional for one year throughout the country in order to read the students’ readiness on it.
On the other hand the chief of the Private Schools Management Association, Sharfuzzaman, has also opposed the composite system of examination and said that people from various sections, including students, intellectuals, professors, columnists and parliamentarians from both sides of the fence had opposed it.
