KARACHI, May 4: No male invigilator has been assigned duties at any of the centres designated for women candidates in the city, said the Controller of Examinations of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Karachi, on Thursday.

The Controller, Mohammad Salim Khan, said that the complaint of a private school that its girl students were forced by male examination staff to take off their veils during the annual examinations was incorrect.

As a mater of fact, the BSE has not deployed any male invigilators at all at any examination centre meant for female candidates, he said.

The controller said that after receiving a complaint from the NED School, it was decided that the complainant would be called at the board for discussion and clarification.

The principal of the NED School, Bihar Colony, had a few days back said that male examination staff at the KMA Secondary School, Kharadar, had asked some of his students to take of their veils in the examination room.

The principal was of the view that the alleged act of the "male" examiners had offended him and some of the parents and there was a need to take appropriate measures so that the incident, which, according to him was un-Islamic and immoral, does not recur.

The BSE controller said all girl students were at liberty to remain in veils, hijabs or to use scarf while taking their exams.

However, woman invigilators could ask them to take off their veils or hijabs for a brief period for verification purposes, if needed, he said, adding that such exercises were necessary to avoid cases of impersonation among girl candidates.

In the meantime, in a statement, the principal of the KMA School said that two teams of the BSE had separately visited the examination centre set up at her school on May 2 and 3 and had also interviewed the candidates.

The candidates had informed the BSE officials, including Salim Khan, the Controller, and Abdur Rahman and Mohammad Iqbal, members of the BSE’s special inspection team, that they had been appearing in exams at the KMA School very comfortably and at no stage had they faced any male invigilator demanding them to unveil themselves, added the principal.