Daily Times

The second day of the matriculation board exams in Sindh saw Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah full of whim and vigour. He suspended as many as 28 officials during his visit.

His efforts aside, poor management of exam centres was reported in many cities of Sindh, including Hyderabad, Ghotki, Naushero Feroze, Larkan, Qamber, Ghumbat, Khairpur and Sukkur.

As many as 200 cheating and copying cases were observed, while the negligence of officials was widely reported.

Dismal lack of any proper facility in centres hurdled students sitting for matric examinations as they braved extreme thirst. There was no drinkable water available in many centres.

Parents cried that the schools were not under the attention of the government as no fans, adequate furniture and water coolers were made available. The students were not able to give exam with ease, he added.

Personal Assistant to Chief Minister, Waqar Mehdi, visited many government schools and expressed displeasure with arrangements. He said that the complaints he had received from the centres with reference to poor management would be reported to the CM. As usual, cheating in matric examinations was said to have exceeded all records, especially in Korangi, which has been the hub of unfair practices of Karachi.

Despite the supervision and patrolling of police at the centres, Karachi Board of Secondary Education (KBSE) seems to have failed to curb the practice.

It was reported that in Korangi Boys schools, staff was involved in letting students cheat openly.

The principal of a private school noted that every student of a school had given five thousand rupees to gain access to uninterrupted cheating.

“My school has not paid any rupee because we taught our students whole year,” he added

Authorities claim that Section 144 has already been imposed at examination centres to check unfair practices, especially cheating.

If Section 144 was truly imposed, students would not be allowed to gather in groups before the exams, photocopy shops around the centres would have remained closed and unauthorized persons would not have been allowed to sit in exams, they added.

Yet, a large number of students are gathered and there was still said to be no action. Parents hold teachers responsible for massive cheating whereas teachers throw blame back on parents. “They want their dunderhead offsprings to get grade A or A-One, which is impossible without exams’ preparation. From parents, no focus takes place,” teachers alleged. School staff is said to let students use mobile phones and cheating materials freely during the exams. Moreover, the replacement of candidates is also being reported.