Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Wednesday said the syllabus of matriculation and intermediate level has been reduced in order to facilitate the students by minimizing their educational loss due to closures of schools due to COVID-19.
Addressing a press conference after holding an Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) at Higher Education Commission, he said the exams of 9th and 10th class would be taken in only four elective subjects.
Similarly, Shafqat said, the 11th and 12th exams would also be held in only elective subjects and the exam of remaining subjects would not be held. The exams would start after July 10, he added.
Board exams to be held after July 10: Mahmood https://t.co/GfydByUHJf
Education minister says students will only appear for elective subjects, reiterates earlier decision not to promote any pupil without examination
— Syeda Yasmeen Ali (@yasmeen_9) June 3, 2021
He went on saying that firstly, the exams of 10th and 12th classes would be held and later, the exams of 9th and 11th would be conducted.
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.
Read more: #CancelBoardExams2021 trends atop on Twitter
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.
Courtesy: APP