April 18, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1429

KARACHI, April 17: The vigilance committees of the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi, has so far detected around 70 cases of the use of unfair means (UFM), during the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) part 1 and II (Science and General) annual examinations 2008 currently under way at over 400 centres across the city.

According to BSEK Secretary Prof Asif Pasha Siddiqui, the board has set up a supreme vigilance committee under the chairmanship of the city government’s executive district officer (Education) and its members include senior headmasters and headmistresses of various city schools.

In addition to the supreme vigilance committee, 150 more vigilance committees, each comprising two members, are visiting the examination centres in two shifts daily and submitting their reports on cases pertaining to the use of unfair means and other matters relating to the examinations to the board in the evening.

When inquired about the measures taken to ensure law and order in and around the 400 examination centres, the official said that the board had already written letters to the relevant nazims and the town municipal administrations, seeking their cooperation in this regard and, so far, no untoward incident had been reported from across the city.

Commenting on the reports of broken desks and non-availability of fans at some examination centres which had been set up at government schools, he said that they had to set up most of the examinations centres at government schools as some of the private schools, which earlier used to be made examination centres had now got themselves affiliated with another board of education and thus the BSE did not have any control over such private schools.

He, however, said that all those government schools where proper furniture was not available, were provided with funds so that such schools could arrange furniture on a rental basis, besides every centre was given a substantial amount for the provision of drinking water to both the candidates and the invigilation staff.

Admit cards

Referring to the BSE’s policy of issuing admit cards to the candidates who had failed to submit their examination forms for the ongoing Class IX and X annual examinations, sources in the board said that in order to save the academic year of the students, the BSEK was still issuing admit cards on a payment of Rs1,500 as a late fee.

The sources said that although examinations had already begun, those students who had failed to submit their examination forms during its stipulated period but were willing to appear in the remaining papers of Class IX and X annual examinations-2008 cou-ld do so even now by applying for the admit cards, which would be issued to them the same day.

“We have issued around 100 admit cards to the leftover candidates just a day before the commencement of the ongoing Class IX and X examinations,” said an official of the BSE’s examination department.

The board, in order to facilitate the financially weak candidates, would either waive the late fee or give a 50 per cent concession to the deserving ones, said sources.

Results’ schedule

According to the Board’s senior deputy controller of examinations, Bizzatullah, results of the ongoing Class X (General group) annual examinations-2008 will be announced by June 15 and that of Class X (Science group) will be made public on July 15.

Elaborating, he said that according to a decision of the Sindh education department’s steering committee, it was mandatory on all the educational boards of the province to announce the results of Class-X (General group) and Science annual examination-2008 by June 15 and July 15, respectively.

Regarding the practical examinations’ date, he said that the practical examinations schedule will be announced shortly.