KARACHI, May 7: The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi released on provisional basis the admit cards of 113 students of two women colleges on Tuesday morning.
The cards were withheld by the board on the pretext that the students were short of attendance. However, students contested the claim and said there was a likelihood of any miscalculation on the part of college.
In view of the protests and plight of students and after a good deal of persuasions by parents, nazims from different areas and City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, the officials from Governor’s House finally asked the Chairman of BIE to issue admit cards to the affected students to save their precious academic year, said sources in the board on Tuesday.
It was further learnt that the governor also directed the board not to dispute any letter received from college principals stating the attendance position of the students.
The board was asked to issue admit cards and put off the scrutiny of attendance record for some other time, added the source.
An official at the board told Dawn on Tuesday that admit cards of 95 students of Govt College for Women, Shahrah-i- Liaquat, and 18 students of Riaz Government Girls College, were delivered to college representatives between 8 am and 9 am on Tuesday.
In line with the competent authorities instructions, the admit cards have been issued provisionally and would enable the students to take the science group examinations, added the official, claiming that none of the candidates in question would have to miss any of their papers as BIE has ensured a timely issuance of admit cards to them.
The principals of the two colleges — Govt College for Women, Shahrah-i-Liaquat, and Riaz Govt Girls College — had returned the admit cards to the board in the last week of April, stating that students in question had failed to maintain at least 50 per cent attendance at their respective colleges during the academic session which ended in April.
After being contested by the affected students, the college authorities had carried out the attendance calculations afresh and informed the board that admits cards were surrendered earlier due to miscalculations. However, the BIE did not accept the version and maintained that any relaxation in attendance rules could be allowed by the Sindh governor, following which students started approaching different authorities to get their cards released before May 7 when the major papers of science groups commenced.
There were three more colleges which had sent back admit cards of students to the board, but they did not apply afresh, with any change in attendance positions of students and as such their cases could not be considered under the governor’s house directives, said sources in the board.
It was further said that the principal of the Premier College No 2, North Nazimabad, had been informed that the admit cards of the students could not be released only on humanitarian ground as it would be a clear violation of Sindh cabinet’s decision of 50 per cent compulsory attendance for appearing in HSC annual examinations.
About 150 students of Premier College can now take the Commerce group examinations as private candidates in June and if they decide to be admitted again as regular students of the intermediate second year after their first year examinations (private) they could do so, with the approval of BIE, said the official.
The principals of SMB Fatima Jinnah College and Quaid-i- Millat College had sent back two and 12 admit cards respectively, but they did not approach the BIE for the second time, maintained sources in the board.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for PPP Sindh and Secretary Information of the party, Munawar Hussain Suharwardy, has criticised the non-issuance of admit cards to students.