Board exams for classes 9th, 10th to be held for four subjects
Shafqat Memmood said exams for students of classes 11 and 12 would be held for elective subjects
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood on Wednesday 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.
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.
