BAHAWALPUR: Hundreds of part-1 intermediate candidates took to streets against, what they say, flawed marking by the board examiners.

Several candidates from private and public educational institutions gathered at the Islamia University Chowk under the banner of ‘Progressive Youth Alliance’. Amid slogans against board officials, they held a procession from the university crossing to the DCO chowk. They blocked the DCO chowk, disrupting the flow of traffic on the nearby roads. The demonstration demanded recounting and rechecking of their marks and answer sheets and action against the officials responsible for fiasco.

After sometime, protesters dispersed peacefully.

Bahawalpur Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Public Relation Officer Waqar Ahmed told Dawn that the board could remark and re-examine the papers free of cost provided the candidates submitted the applications to the BISE through their institutions.

FAISALABAD: Dozens of private colleges students protested on Jaranwala Road and at the Zila Council chowk at controversial results. Protesters, in their college uniforms, blocked traffic on Jaranwala Road and chanted slogans against the board officials. Students also put tyres on fire while At Zila Council chowk and also blocked traffic.

They told reporters computer errors had failed them even in Urdu paper. Some of the agitators also exchanged words with motorists who tried to breach the blockade they had erected.

GUJRANWALA: Both boys and girls candidates demonstrated on Saturday outside the Gujranwala BISE to protest flawed marking of papers and shouted slogans against the board administration. They dubbed the existing paper marking system lacking credible. Papers were being marked by retired primary school teachers who lacked training. They said the controversy had put a question mark on the credibility of the evaluation system. They demanded that their papers be re-checked by competent teachers.

Board chairman Prof Muhammad Aslam Seikho offered free of cost remarking for the affected candidates.

SIALKOT: Hundreds of the affected candidates from both private and government colleges marched on city roads to lodge their strong protest against the, what they said, poor and flawed papers marking of their papers.They also staged a sit-out in front of the offices of the Sialkot district coordination officer and kept the traffic blocked on various inter-city intercity roads for one hour.

MULTAN: A large number of the students of intermediate part-I held a protest demonstration outside the Multan BISE office on Saturday.

Protesters said that due to the faulty marking, their future was at stake.

They demanded that the marking of their papers be done again and action be taken against the officials responsible for wrong marking. The protest caused traffic jam on the adjoining roads. Police was called to avert any untoward incident.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2016