KARACHI – The administrative weaknesses of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) came to the fore on Tuesday – the second day of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) annual examinations – when one of the exam centres was provided only 900 question papers even though 1,800 female students had to appear there for the Pakistan Studies paper. This was the Government Girls Higher Secondary School (GGHSS) in Block-6, Gulshan-e-Iqbal where the centre superintendent had to get the question papers photocopied to meet the shortage but even then the photocopies fell short.
The centre used the photocopies even though acting BSEK chairman Anwar Ahmed Zai has had assured that all photostat shops near examination centres would remain closed during the papers. During the first shift, female candidates solved the question paper while sitting on the floor in one of the halls of GGHSS. Even the corridors of the centre were crammed with students, as the building with the capacity of 700, entertained 1,800 candidates.
After the paper, the students told Pakistan Today that the limited question papers were not distributed on time also. Although, the centre superintendent had called the BSEK, asking for more question papers, they arrived after 11:00 am, when the students had almost completed the paper. Many had to share the same examination paper as only 900 question papers were available at the centre. Ironically, these students also shared the multiple choice questions (MCQs) sheets after solving them, which were mostly tick-marked (solved) by the students.
“The invigilators did not inform us that MCQs papers are also short in quantity and we had to share them with other students, so we solved the paper on the sheet,” said the students. Interestingly, the BSEK had used the same GGHSS premises during ‘mock exams’ but could not ascertain even the capacity of the centre. GGHSS Gulshan-e-Iqbal Centre Superintendent Mubeen Qureshi alleged that the BSEK was at fault on assigning more students than its capacity at the centre. “I had informed them that the school can at the most entertain 700 students, but they sent hundreds of students without any prior intimation,” she added.
Similarly, 467 candidates turned up at the Government Boys Secondary School in No 3, Shah Faisal Colony, while the BSEK had earlier approved this centre for 367. Almost 100 students had to sit on the floor during the paper. Reportedly, the question papers at the Government Boys Secondary School, KTS-11 in No1, S-Area Korangi were delivered at 11:30 am and taken back from the candidates after one and a half hour. However, the school denied the report and said the paper was held on time.
Furthermore, reports from JMA Girls School located at Shahrah-e- Liaquat claimed that a number of students were sitting on the floor due to shortage of furniture. However, the centre superintendent and the school’s management did not allow the media to visit the school.
“Bring an authority letter from the BSEK, if you want to visit the school otherwise you will not be entertained,” said Centre Superintendent Saira Aijaz.
