KARACHI, April 29: The cases of a number of students caught up in exam cheating are reportedly not being registered by invigilators and vigilance teams because of alleged pressures exerted on them by activists of certain political groups.

Several cases of exam cheating are being detected during the ongoing secondary school certificate exams of regular and private candidates. In most cases, the candidates took unauthorised items, particularly mobile phones, into the examination halls and used them not only for cheating but also for calling up political activists when caught by invigilators.

Admitting that 300 cases of use of unfair means have been registered so far in the examinations that had commenced on April 15, an official associated with the examination department of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi on the condition of anonymity told Dawn that the number of cases registered during these exams was quite less keeping in view the rising trend of cheating.

The official said exam cheats were using increasingly hi-tech methods for cheating. “Cellular phones are playing a nasty game in promoting the trend of cheating in examinations. In fact, whenever an exam cheat was caught, he wasted no time in calling up his links in the pressure groups and had him talk with them,” sources said, adding that invigilators usually decide not to register any case against the cheat after having the conversation on phone.

For those candidates having the biology subject, Class IX (science group) annual examinations concluded on Monday. However, for the computer studies group candidates the last paper will be held on May 5.

A spokesman for the BSEK said that the remaining papers of Class IX (computer studies) group, Class X (science) and Class IX and X (general) group for both regular and private candidates would be held in the third and last phase of the examinations from May 5 to 7.