The humanities group’s students of the Army Public School and College-Malir Cantt are facing difficulties in taking the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) annual examination 2011 because the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi has allotted them examination centres that are located at least 20 kilometres away from their college.
Covering the long distance, 25 students of humanities group part-I reached an examination centre after an hour. Many of the students could not reach the centre before the start of the first examination and many others had to leave their houses two hours before the start of the examination to reach the centre.
The annual examination has become an adventure for some who have never experienced life outside the Malir Garrison, but these students had to, albeit unwillingly, leave the locality to take their examination.
The Army Public School and College is an institution that is situated inside the Malir Garrison, where predominantly the children of the personnel of the armed forces study. This educational institution was established especially for the children of the personnel of the armed forces.
The Government Degree College-Malir Cantt would be the nearest examination centre for the students of the Army Public School and College, but the BIEK management has apparently chosen to overlook this important fact.
Outside the Malir Garrison, the Liaquat Government College for Girls-Malir and the Government Girls Arts and Commerce College-Malir would be the nearest centres in Malir, but the BIEK forced 25 students to take their examination at the PAF Government Girls Higher Secondary School-Drigh Road.
The first day of the HSSC part-I examination turned into an unpleasant adventure for these 25 students when they arrived at the exam centres with their parents.
These parents, mostly mothers, waited outside the centre on a hot and humid day until their children exited the PAF Government Girls Higher Secondary School after taking their exam.
On the condition of anonymity, a student told Pakistan Today, “This is the first time that I have stepped outside the Malir Garrison. My mother and I left the house at 1:00 pm and tried locating the exam centre for a long time. I was in touch with my friend who had reached the centre before me, but she also could not help me as she was an alien outside Malir Cantt as well.”
“We had to ask around for locating the exam centre and reached there just 10 minutes before the start of the examination, and my mother had to wait outside the centre for me for three hours,” she added.
When approached for comments, BIEK Chairman Anwar Ahmed Zai said that the board considers three things while allotting examination centres.
Zai said that regular candidates are allotted exam centres near their colleges, private candidates are allotted exam centres near their residences, and the board also tries to ensure separate exam centres for males and females.
He said that the priority of the board is to allot nearest educational institutions as exam centres to facilitate the students during their examination.
However, when he was asked about the case of the Army Public School and College, he said that he was unaware of this issue.
