Smelling a rat in the influx of private candidates wanting to appear in the one-year Intermediate in Commerce (I.Com) programme, the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) has decided to convert the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) programme into a two-year regular course, pending approval of the Board of Governors.
Initially, the board had decided to abolish the I.Com programme for private candidates; however, it was principally agreed to break the intermediate course into two parts for examinations to be taken over a period of two years.
The change can only be implemented if the BIEK Board of Governors approves the new examination formula for private candidates.
BIEK Chairman Anwar Ahmed Zai told Pakistan Today that the board had witnessed a sharp increase in the number of private candidates willing to appear in the one-year programme. “This year, the number of private candidates [registered for one-year I.Com] came close to the number of regular candidates. On investigation, it was observed that students willing to complete I.Com in one year use every type of illegal means to pass their exams in one go.”
The BIEK chairman also expressed his surprise over the situation that the pass percentage of private students in commerce faculty was higher than the regular programme.
“There are limited facilities for regular commerce students and acute shortage of commerce faculty in some government colleges in the city. Even then, regular candidates are able to pass their annual exams in two years after a great effort. So how can the private candidate clear their exams in one go?”
“The number of private candidates willing to appear in I.Com is increasing at a rapid pace and at the same time the number of regular candidates in science group is decreasing sharply,” Zai pointed out.
He added that to manage the flow of private students and curb the menace of unfair means in annual examinations, the BIEK has decided to impose some conditions on private candidates similar to that on regular students.
The BIEK is the only educational board in the country which offers private candidates a chance to complete their intermediate in one year. However, unfair practices have forced the board to take back its decision.
Zai said the board had offered the concession to the candidates who could not get admissions to colleges due to some reasons, but it has to withdraw the relaxation due to the rapidly changing scenario.
“The private candidates would only be allowed to appear in the I.Com Part-II exams, after clearing all the required subjects in Part-I.
“The board plans to break the I.Com programme for private candidates in two annual parts, but the formal announcement will only be made after approval from the Board of Governors,” said the BIEK chairman.
67 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS WARNED: The BIEK on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to 67 educational institutions for their poor performance in the annual intermediate examinations 2011 (pre-medical group).
The notices issued by BIEK Chairman Anwar Ahmed Zai warned the higher secondary schools, and public and private colleges to clear their position in this regard, otherwise the board would cancel or suspend their affiliation.
The 67 educational institutions warned included eight government and 13 private institutions that had zero percent results in the annual examinations.
Moreover, there were 17 educational institutions, 15 government colleges and two private institutes, which had results of less than 10 percent. At least 29 higher secondary schools, 24 government and five private colleges, had less than 20 percent results in the annual intermediate examinations 2011.
Zai also informed the Colleges Director and the Directorate of Private Institutions Sindh and other stakeholders about the show-cause notices.
Meanwhile, a meeting of BIEK Board of Governors was also convened for discussing the cancellation of the affiliations of colleges that had performed poorly during last year’s annual examinations.
