April 16, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 9, 1429

KARACHI, April 15: The Secondary School Certificate (Class IX and X) Science and General groups examinations (both for regular and private candidates) began on Tuesday amid the non-availability of electricity at various centres and unchecked use of unfair means.

Some of the candidates appearing in the examinations also suffered either because of the absence of fans in classrooms or the broken desks provided to them at the centres set up at different government schools. Besides, complaints of non-availability of drinking water were also received from some examination centers.

In all, around 400 centres were set up for the examinations at both the private and government schools, but most of complaints of absence of fans in classrooms and broken desks were received from government schools.

A record number of 300,000 candidates are appearing in the examinations being held from 9am to 12noon for Class X students, and from 2pm to 5pm for Class IX students.

A number of candidates whose examination centres were set up at schools in far-flung areas of the city complained that although the examination at their centres began from 15 to 30 minutes late, they were hardly given five to 10 minutes’ extra time.

Admitting that question papers at a few examination centres, particularly those in suburban areas, reached late, officials of the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi, claimed that as soon as the board’s officials conducting the examination got this news, they immediately contacted superintendents of the examination centers and directed them to give extra time to all such candidates.