Coronavirus in Pakistan: NCOC to review SOP compliance at Cambridge exam centres, says Shafqat Mehmood

ISLAMABAD: Amid strong calls from the students to cancel the ongoing Cambridge exams, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) will review the COVID-19 SOP compliance at the exam centres in a special session today, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood said on Tuesday

The Cambridge examinations started on Monday across Pakistan after courts dismissed all the legal challenges against the exams.

The minister said that the permission to hold the exam was conditional on strict SOP observance.

“As more reports have come in, It is obvious that outside the exam centres the compliance is poor. This and the latest corona spread reports will be discussed in a special NCOC meeting today afternoon,” he said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

'Cambridge being held  on education ministry's directives'

Earlier on Monday, a NCOC session, headed by its chairman Asad Umar and co-chaired by National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood-Uz-Zaman Khan, was held in Islamabad.

The NCOC, in a statement, said the examinations were being conducted in line with the Ministry of Education's decisions. The forum directed that not more than 50 students should be allowed in a centre.

Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, violation of coronavirus SOPs was seen, as several students did not wear face masks — essential equipment to keep the virus at bay. The parents were also present outside the exam halls waiting for their children.