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Parents, students call for extension in Class IX exam dates
KARACHI, March 10(The News): Parents, students and teachers have unanimously demanded of the Sindh
government to extend the date for the examination of class IX.
The
disturbed parents and students approached the concerned authorities as well the
members of the assemblies and other elected representatives and requested them
to use their influence to have the date for the class nine examinations
extended.
The government announced the schedule for classes IX and X and
May 15 was fixed as the date for Class IX and April 17 for Class X after the
hectic efforts of the Sindh Governor and Chief Minister while the education
minister declared that no separate exam would be held in 2007.
Parents,
citing the example of the Punjab which has adopted final strategy regarding the
examination, also demanded of the concerned authorities and especially, the
governor, controlling authority, to solve the problem once for all and rid the
students of this uncertainty.
It is to be mentioned here that it was
decided in the Inter-provincial Education Ministers meeting in 2005 that from
2006 all the provinces would shift to composite examination system at
matriculation level as a part of Education Sector Reforms
package.
However, Sindh sought a one-year waiver in the implementation of
this new system from the President of Pakistan which he agreed to.
As the
waiver was granted by President General Pervez Musharraf just for one year,
Sindh has to adopt the composite examination system at the matriculation level
from this year, which means that there would be no examination of Class IX this
year and students of matriculation examination shall be examined next year. Any
further change in the composite examination system is the discretion of the
President of Pakistan.
The students and parents, explaining the reason of
extension in the examinations date, said that first and foremost the syllabus
was not completed and secondly, students were not mentally prepared to appear
for the examination.
Earlier, under the system of composite
examinations, students of class IX were taught 10 subjects pertaining to both
SSC-I and II and after two years of study, they were to appear for a combined
SSC exam. With eleventh hour announcement, students were prepared to take
separate examinations has not only worried them, but parents and teachers too
were confused as to how in short span of time students could prepare themselves
for the most important exams of their educational career.
In this
peculiar situation, students will be moving from pillar to post to get the most
competitive tutor who could board them on the most crucial phase of their
educational career.
On the other hand Sindh Private School Management
Association has decided that a requisition would be sent to the governor of
Sindh to delay the examination date of SSC Part 1, which was schedule to be held
on May 15 so as to teach those chapters which were skipped after the decision of
separate exams was taken.
In this connection, Khalid Shah, Chairman
Sindh Private School Management Association told The News that a memorandum
would be sent to the controlling authority, the Governor of Sindh, to extend the
date for Class IX examination and would also be asked that in exercise of his
power the decision should immediately be announced.
He said that as a
matter of fact, candidates who pass the secondary board examination would be
facing hardships in their intermediate studies as the same chapter which were
skipped in SSC Part I exams, would be taught at the college level.
However,Sharfuzzaman, Chairman Private School Management was of the view
that further delay in exams would not be feasible as it would affect the entire
system and disturb the whole schedule.
When contacted controller of
examination, Salim Khan, said dispatch of Admit Cards and enrollment cards was
on and it would be completed by the end of the month.
Furthermore, he
said that no deadline for collecting admit cards were set, only after the end of
the current month, the board will charge late fees not as penalty but to make
accessible to the students and there should remain no hitch that students could
not appear before the exams only because enrolment and admit cards were not
available, he said.
The Academic Committee meeting reviewed the syllabus
taught in schools under its jurisdiction and observed that Book-II of Biology
and Chemistry had not been used during the year.
The students of Class
IX examination in 2007 would be examined in Biology theory, Chemistry theory,
and Computer Studies theory from the new Book-I only.
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