KARACHI: The British Council has decided to resume all Cambridge exams from Monday, May 15, as per schedule.

The decision was made after a series of discussions between Cambridge International and the British Council teams and after careful evaluation of the situation in the country, keeping in mind their duty of care to ensure the safety of the candidates, their parents and staff members in the event of any unforeseen incident.

As per the decision, all exams scheduled for Monday, May 15 onwards in the morning and afternoon sessions will be carried out as per usual schedule across the country.

Cambridge has a well-established process to award results to candidates in circumstances when a candidate is absent from an exam component for an acceptable reason. Most students whose exams were cancelled will be able to get their results through that process.

Addressing the Cambridge students, Uzma Yousuf, Country Director, Pakistan at Cambridge University Press and Assessment and Amir Ramzan, Country Director, British Council, Pakistan said: “Cancelling the exams on May 10, 11 and 12 has been a difficult decision for the British Council. Your safety and well-being come first, and that’s why this decision was taken. We know this is a crucial time in your academic journey, and the disruption caused by the current situation is not ideal. We want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to ensure that Cambridge students can continue their education journey without any interruption.”

“Our team is continuously monitoring the situation, and we will keep you updated as we have more information. We are completely committed to providing a safe and secure environment for you to sit for your exams.”, they added.

Cambridge also clarified that they will not award results based on school assessed grades, and will not be asking schools to collect a portfolio of evidence of candidates’ work. Cambridge reiterated that they will only be awarding grades based on examinations that the candidates have been able to take.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2023