KARACHI, May 14: Hundreds of Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) annual examination candidates did their exams in dark and hot rooms as electricity supply to several examination centres had been disconnected for non-payment of dues while many examination centres were subjected to loadshedding on Monday, Dawn has learnt.

“When there is no electricity at the exam centre, it becomes almost impossible to ensure other amenities like overhead pumping of water and functioning of water coolers in time, while examination staffs too, in addition to the candidates, find it difficult to work smoothly and run computers,” said a couple of teachers while speaking about general adverse effects of power failure at examination centres.

They expressed the fear of adverse reactions from candidates if things were not addressed properly and urgently.

Speaking to Dawn, controller of examinations M. Imran Khan Chisti said that initially the power company had disconnected its supply to 47 colleges where examination centres had been established. However in the wake of examinations and efforts by the college directorate and the civil administration, the power supply of 65 per cent of the centres had been restored, he said claiming that loadshedding at about 55 per cent of the HSC examination centres had also been put off during the examination hours from Monday.

However, some college teachers said that the KESC had selected a wrong time to penalise the educational institutions for not paying electricity bills.

However, they added that the BIEK too should have thought about the issue in advance and have avoided the defaulting colleges for centre purposes.

Sources told Dawn that the college directorate had been able to pay an amount to the tune of Rs19 million in recent months against outstanding or accumulated dues.

The power supply was disconnected even to some of the colleges for minor default, said a source in the college directorate and added that centre superintendents were not ready to conduct examinations at their centres in the absence of electricity while the temperature had increased in recent days.

Still 10-15 examination centres are waiting for restoration of power supply, said another source.

The superintendent of the examination centre set up at the Government Degree Boys College, Sector 5/L, New Karachi, Prof Saleem Ghauri, said that electricity supply to his college had always remained precarious.

“The wires connecting my college with the KESC system are of very low quality and not fit for any heavy duty purpose,” he said and added that despite reminders, the power company had not been able to rectify the situation and consequently now the examination staff and candidates were bearing the burnt of both the power disruption and the frequent loadshedding.

He said that the water pump at the college could not be made functional while the water coolers remained almost inoperative during the examination period and electric fans and other appliances also could not be operated due to low voltage.

“We are somehow managing the candidates and staffs, but any panic-like situation cannot be ruled out,” he said.

Responding to Dawn queries, centre superintendent of the Government City College No1, Moosa Colony, Prof Shuja ul Islam also expressed his dissatisfaction over the power supply situation.

Acknowledging that loadshedding continued at the centre on Monday, he said that apart from the loadshedding, the supply quality was inferior and there always remained the risk that appliances and fans might go burnt due to voltage fluctuation.

He said that in the hot weather, provision of cold water to candidates also become very difficult.

The director general of colleges, Dr Nasir Zahid, recognised the problems of candidates at the centre due to disconnection of electricity or loadshedding and said that efforts were under way to lessen the hardships of students and the examination staffs.

The directorate had already approached the finance department for release of amount needed for the payment to the KESC and things would definitely improve soon, he said.

Cheating in exams

In the meantime, various vigilance teams of the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi detected 22 candidates using unfair means in the two shifts of the examinations on Monday.

A team led by chairman of the BIEK Anwar A. Zai also caught seven students cheating at the Government Degree Boys College, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, said a BIEK communication, adding that the an invigilator was also stopped from carrying out his examination work as the materials used in unfair means were recovered from the room he was supervising.

National College classes

Meanwhile, the principal of the Government National College from where the HSC examination has been shifted to a college in Gulistan-i-Jauher has said that normal degree classes will resume at the college on May 15, according to the schedule.