The chairman of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK), Prof Anwar
Ahmed Zai, on Monday set up a scrutiny committee to look into students’ issues
with the results of this year’s examinations.
The BSEK, when announcing the results of Secondary School Certificate (SSC)
part-II on July 30, had said that they were proud to be doing so two weeks ahead
of the deadline given by the steering committee of the Directorate of Education.
He thanked his staff, especially BSEK Controller of Examinations Noman Ahsan and
Secretary Hoor Mazhar for supporting him and working with him even during the
Eid holidays to achieve this. He also issued a challenge to anyone who thought
that their results were unfair.
And the challenge was accepted almost immediately when several students who had
failed or had been marked absent came to protest at the board office the very
next day, on July 31. As it was Friday, they went away vowing to return in full
force on Monday, which they did.
Many of the students were shocked to find out that they had been marked absent
on papers they had appeared for. Others were crying after finding out that they
had failed even though they were expecting good marks. The crowd pelted the
building with stones and shouted slogans against the board office and its staff.
“Haste makes waste. They were in such a hurry to announce the results that they
made huge mistakes,” complained a girl student who was marked absent though she
had appeared for all her papers.
The board is in the process of computerising all its systems and this year it
was said that all the results, including those of failed students, would be
uploaded on the internet. But many students couldn’t find their results on the
internet. Others didn’t even have computers or access to the internet.
These were the first results announcements by the BSEK after Prof Ahmed Zai’s
taking over as chairman.
The board chairman has constituted a committee comprising a head examiner,
deputy examiner and senior teachers, who will be accepting scrutiny forms for
any subject that a student may want to get rechecked.
Prof Zai said the scrutiny took 40 days, but keeping the student’s urgency in
getting it done before college admissions, they would be doing it in five days.
The students must submit the scrutiny forms which are available at the National
Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank and Askari Bank booths at the board office. All
they need to do is attach a copy of their admit card with it.
Prof Zai met the protesting students to hear out their problems but said that
even though he would help them in getting their papers rechecked, he would not
be pressured into passing the ones who had failed their exams.
He added that around 10 educational institutions still had not submitted their
physics practical books to the board, which had affected the results of some 800
students.