Following a security breach that prompted the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), part of the University of Cambridge, to have about 15,000 students in Pakistan retake their O’ Level and IGCSE Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat exams, the results are consistent with those seen in previous years.
A press release from CIE Chief Executive Michael O’ Sullivan announced that most of the 15,000 candidates opted for the second sitting while some had opted to retake their exam during the November examination cycle.
“While it remains a source of great regret to us that this course of action was necessary, we are delighted to see that almost all of the 15,000 candidates who originally entered for the examinations were able to participate in the second sitting,” the release stated.
A small number of candidates, who had opted to take the retakes in November, will do so at no additional charge, it added.
Sullivan announced that the retakes had been conducted successfully and that their markings had now been completed.
“Now that the marking is complete we can see that the overall results are in line with those of previous years, confirming that the papers were no more or less demanding than usual,” Sullivan said.
The statement said that for this year’s exam session, schools in Pakistan made over 200,000 exam entries for Cambridge international qualifications from 520 schools, registering a rise by six per cent since 2012.
Security breach
The CIE had asked for the May papers to be retaken after the question papers were allegedly leaked online after ‘security’ of the said exams had been compromised.
“We take security of examinations very seriously, and must accept responsibility when security is breached,” Sullivan said.
The release added that it was imperative for the board to take strict action on the breach to uphold the integrity of their examination certificates so that they continue to be recognised as worldwide as reliable indicators of student’s attainments.
