Covid Affected Minister for Education, the leader of the entire school going kids, Shafqat Mahmood has said that the era of exam cancellation has almost ended. The 10th and 12th grade school exams will be held after July 10, 2021.
Speaking at the press conference in Islamabad, Shafqat Mahmood said that exams for ‘O levels’ will be held between 26 July to 10 August.
The exams for intermediate will be of maths and the optional papers only. As the course work has not been completed and the concern of the students regarding this is rightly so. Four subject exams/papers will be taken for the 10th class.
He said, “However, the exams will be held this year on all costs.”
It has also been decided to open classes from 9th onward till 12th grade. There will be no pressure taken from any body and nor any decision will be taken under pressure. The exam of the 9th and 11th will be taken later.
Provinces have been consulted before taking these decisions. No one will be given any grade without any exams, says Minister Mahmood.
Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood further said that the students would not be awarded grades without attempting examinations.
A meeting of inter-provincial education ministers was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister Shafqat Mahmood in which the provincial education ministers participated through video link. During the meeting, suggestions regarding examinations were reviewed.
After the meeting, addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, he said that the examinations would commence after July 10, adding that the 9th and 10th examinations will be conducted for elective subjects.
The minister said it was decided in the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers meeting that board exams for students of classes nine and 10 would be held only for elective subjects and mathematics while exams for students of classes 11 and 12 would be held for elective subjects only.
“Last year we promoted some children without exams, but now we have decided that the student would not get grade without attempting exams,” said Shafqat Mahmood.
He went on to say that closing educational institutions due to the coronavirus epidemic was not an easy decision, adding that the pandemic had a negative impact on education but owing to the improvement in the situation, it has been decided to open 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th classes.
It was also decided to keep an interval between each paper, he mentioned.
He said the students had a genuine complain of not completing their course work. Due to closures of schools time and again, the students could not pay attention on their studies, he lamented.
Most of the students studied just two months before of the exams, he said adding that the exams were mandatory to minimize the loss of learning.
The Cambridge exams, he said, were taken despite rising cases of the pandemic. For O Level students, Cambridge decided to take special exams.
“We had to take difficult decisions for closure and and opening of educational institutions as the pandemic had negative effects on education. These all difficult decisions were taken unanimously in IPEMC Meeting” he said.
He said we had an experience of promoting students without exams, adding, now it had been decided that no grades would be awarded without exams.
