Intermediate exams to start on July 26

The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) announced on Monday that the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Annual Examinations 2021 will be held from July 26 to August 4.

According to BIEK Chairman Prof Dr Saeeduddin, 55,443 students of the pre-medical, pre-engineering, general science, home economics and commerce groups will take their HSSC exams in the morning shift.

As for the evening shift, 57,157 external candidates, regular students of the arts group, special candidates and physical education students will take their HSSC exams. This year, around 112,600 students will be taking their HSSC exams. A total of 210 examination centres have been set up in the morning and evening shifts.

Of those, 114 centres have been established for the morning shift and 96 for the evening shift. The board has declared 66 centres — 32 of the morning shift and 34 of the evening shift — highly sensitive.

Dr Saeeduddin said that according to the instructions of the Sindh government, considering the spread of Covid-19, only optional papers prepared from the reduced syllabus will be taken in the current academic year, and they will comprise 50 per cent MCQ, 30 per cent short answers and 20 per cent detailed answers.

He said the board has taken all possible measures to hold transparent examinations. He also said they have written to the home department, the universities & boards and colleges secretaries, the city commissioner, the police and Rangers chiefs, and the power and water utilities to ensure security, law & order and uninterrupted power and water supply during the exams.

“This year the board has also made all arrangements to prevent any untoward incident during the exams. For this reason, two monitoring cells have been set up at the commissioner’s office and the BIEK.”

Section 144 will be enforced in the jurisdictions of the centres during the exams. Opening photostat shops, movement of unauthorised persons and use of mobile phones will not be allowed as well.

Teachers, students and parents can contact the commissioner’s office or BIEK monitoring cells at 99260217 to register their complaints. To discourage cheating, the board has affixed banners at all the centres to create awareness against the use of unfair means. Students and parents have also been informed that bringing any electronic device, mobile phone or other communication tool to any of the centres is strictly prohibited.

“No one, including officers, centre control officers, centre superintendents, exam staff, teachers and students will be allowed to carry mobile phones, tablets, iPads, laptops or electronic devices. Students who violate the rules can be barred from taking their exams for three years,” said the BIEK chairman.

He said that to prevent the copy culture and discourage the use of unfair means, the board has tasked 16 super vigilance teams consisting of teachers to visit the centres and review the assessment process, while 210 vigilance officers will visit different centres daily. One vigilance officer will be present at each centre during the exams. According to the decision of the steering committee, exam duties will be mandatory for all college professors and teachers.

Saeeduddin said that timely and safe delivery of the question papers to the centres will be ensured at any cost. The papers will be delivered in sealed packets. The board has also posted vigilance officers at the centres to check the sealed packets.

The centre control officers are required to ensure that the centre superintendents and vigilance officers are present when they open the sealed packets and envelopes containing the question papers. Their signatures will be taken. The provision of all facilities, including masks and hand sanitisers, will also be ensured.

The chairman said the board has also written to the Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency to keep an eye on the suspected WhatsApp groups during the exams so that the possibility of leaking papers can be minimised.