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Students worst sufferers of power outages
KARACHI, April 23(Dawn): The students taking SSC Part-II exams are facing
hardships both at home and at examination centres due to frequent and prolonged
power failures.
Over hundred thousand students are taking the exams that
started on April 17 at the 415 centres set up across the city.
Interviews
with some students showed that despite inadequate facilities at a number of
examination centres, including water scarcity, broken benches and dirty toilets,
they find it too difficult to brave the power failures.
The first day of
the examination was brought more difficulties for the students who reached their
centres located in different parts of the metropolis through miserable public
transport and when they found their examination rooms and finally got settled to
take exams most of them had already their minds boggling.
The situation
could not change in the days to follow as the Karachi Electric Supply
Corporation stuck to its past practice and added to the ordeal of the students
by offering frequent power cuts during exams.
The survey of a number of
examination centres at different parts of the city showed that most of them
miserably lacked basic facilities. Even if there was no load-shedding, the
students – both boys and girls – found them sweltered at the examination rooms
in the absence of fans.
"I cannot even study at home because of power
outages and appearing in examinations in such conditions is just like a
nightmare," Irum Karim, a candidate at an examination centre in Baldia Town,
said.
Many students were critical about the holding of matriculation
examination in April instead of March which had been scheduled month till last
year when the education authorities delayed the academic year from April to
August.
Even at home, students could not peacefully do preparations for
examinations because of electricity outages.
Many students said they
could not give a final look to their books due to power cuts.
"I found
myself absent-minded and unprepared despite months long studies because the
load-shedding not only deprived me of revising the books but also of a good
sleep to wake up afresh," Mashkoor Junaid, another candidate, said.
Many
parents think the students were luckier than the ninth class students who would
take exams in May, unarguably the hottest month of the year.
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