The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) has closed its doors for nine students, who were allegedly caught red-handed in impersonation cases by the super vigilance team (SVT) during the first phase of the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) annual examination 2011. In an exclusive interview with Pakistan Today, BIEK Controller of Examinations Muhammad Imran Khan Chishti said that the SVT has caught nine impersonators and discovered 227 cases of unfair means (UFM). According to BIEK rules and regulations, these candidates would be declared ineligible to appear in exams for three years, Chishti added.
He said, “The BIEK UFM Committee would decide the fate of the 227 candidates, who were caught by the SVT red-handed during examination.” He added that the UFM Committee would suggest punishments according to the cheating material recovered from the students, and that the punishment period might vary from a year to up to three years. Besides, Chishti said, the vigilance teams of the BIEK have also reported UFM cases during the first phase of the HSSC Parts I and II annual examination 2011, and they would be dealt with according to the rules. He said that the BIEK had established 90 centres for science, medical technology and home economics groups’ examination, which were held during the day, whereas 68 centres were set up for the commerce group’s examination in the evenings.
The board had set up a strong monitoring system to discourage the cheating mafia during the examination, he added.
He also said that the board had hired senior professors of colleges as Centre Controlling Officers (CCOs), Centre Superintendents (CSs) and invigilators. The board had hired as many invigilators as the established centres, and they were also reassigned different centres for each paper to avoid chances of cheating, he added. He claimed that the board paid Rs 300 to senior college professors per duty, which is higher than what any of the boards across the province pay. He said that the board had introduced a new system to avoid leaking of the question paper before the start of the examination.
The presence of the CCOs, CSs and invigilators at the centres was made mandatory before the start of the examination, and they were ordered to report to the BIEK as soon as the examination ended, he added.
Discussing the role of the Confidential Cell (CC), Chishti said that the board has devised a mechanism of secrecy since many years to maintain privacy during the printing of the question papers.
He said that the board has hired moderators for paper-setting, who are considered specialists in their subjects concerned, for preparation of the final question paper. Then the final paper is sent for proofreading and after removal of errors, if any, the final question paper is forwarded to the CC for printing, he added. He also said that the CC is a separate department, which works under the secrecy officer and is supervised by the controller of examinations.
“CC is a separate world and the staff working inside the CC is not allowed to leave until the paper starts at the examination centres,” he added. He further said that the board has provided the CC with technicians, electricians, book binders and other supporting staff to avoid any difficulty during paper-printing. Chishti said that under the dynamic leadership of BIEK Chairman Anwar Ahmed Zai, the examination department worked round-the-clock during the first phase of the annual examination, which took place between May 16 and June 13. He said, “It’s our achievement that not a single paper was postponed due to the leaking of question paper before the start of the exam.” The second phase of the HSSC Parts I and II exam for regular and private candidates would start from June 21 (tomorrow).
