Karachi Intermediate Education Board (KIEB) Chairman Prof Inam Ahmed has been round the bend over the question paper of I.Com (Part 1) Principles of Commerce in noon shift before the exams were due to start. The chairman accused the teachers deputed at the examination centres so as to secrete the illegality of the board staff. I.Com (Part 1) Principles of Commerce paper of both private and regular sessions went viral on social websites and WhatsApp before the start of the exam. While talking to media sources, the chairperson proclaimed that paper was shown to the students after it reached the examination centres. The board staff was not responsible if there was corruption, he maintained. BIEK had already banned the media coverage for the yearly Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination 2019. The media coverage was prohibited in Karachi following reports of massive cheating during Matric exams across Sindh province. This had posed a question on the freedom of media and the education of Pakistan as well. While responding to a reporter over banning media in examination centres, Ahmed replied, “In any Cambridge or other educational systems, no media is permitted to cover in the examination hall.” Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code was imposed around exam centres, he added Students also claimed that schools’ invigilators had been called to account for the issue. The KIEB had failed to act against all who have been working as ‘Copy Mafia,’ they claimed. According to the students, the copying mafia had put forward all and sundry in the hall to cheat by paying them small sums of money to get high percentages. It was said that everyone from peons to officers was involved. BIEK noted that 215800 candidates were appearing for the examinations, for which some 188 centres had been set up in different educational institutions of Karachi. Out of 188 centres, 59 had been declared extremely sensitive. Hence it was not easy to stop the prevalence of cheating in the metropolis and across the province, the chairman added. Sindh Education Minister, Syed Sardar Ali Shah, had warned whoever found involved in leaking the matriculation examination paper in Sindh of strict action. He also called for the civil society members, busy updating Facebook statuses to step into the field to eradicate the cheating culture in exams. On the other hand, a large number of furious candidates, who have yet not been delivered the admit cards, surrounded the office of chairman. They demanded the admit cards or rescheduling of the paper missed due to the sluggish authorities.