PUBLISHED
June 04, 2023
KARACHI:
Who would have thought that there can be a time when college students are unhappy and annoyed with the information of cancellation of examinations fairly than celebrating the concept they don’t have to sit down for examinations? The problems which have developed within the within the schooling system in the previous couple of years are usually not simply irritating but in addition exhausting for college kids who research the entire yr to achieve marks in particular topics, however then with out a lot notification, their scheduled examinations are cancelled, and way forward for their research hangs with both projected marks or an total common of different topics.
Within the final 4 years, virtually everybody in Pakistan has suffered due to COVID-19. 1000’s have been laid off. The way forward for the younger turned stagnant with examination cancellations. In 2020, college students who have been attempting to go overseas confronted difficulties due to predicted marks. Many have been disadvantaged of the possibility to get into the schools for which that they had ready.
The scenario worsened this yr when political unrest and deterioration in regulation and order created immense difficulties for college kids. In Punjab, Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Training rescheduled examinations, whereas in Sindh examinations occurred as scheduled. Within the wake of the law-and-order scenario, the Cambridge Worldwide Examination (CIE) needed to be cancelled throughout the nation.
College students’ ordeal
The present scenario might have been irritating for a lot of, but it surely has additionally benefitted a couple of. Some college students have scored effectively particularly elements. “For me, the scenario labored out as a result of every topic has varied elements; for instance, in chemistry I gave three elements within the first yr and needed to give two within the second yr. This yr, it was introduced that due to cancellation of exams, round 18 p.c of that particular yr’s elements ought to be already given, and solely then one can get common grades of that element,” defined the 18-year-old Huzaifa Alam who sat for his A2 this yr.
Alam mentioned that the scenario labored for him as his first three papers went effectively, and he hopes that he has aced them. He will likely be given common marks for the elements of the 2 papers that have been cancelled. “For these college students who didn’t do effectively in earlier elements, it is going to ultimately have an effect on their grades,” he defined.
Amidst the continuing uncertainty, it was anticipated that the examination schedules is also affected. After the upheavals of 2020 and 2021, everybody had that in thoughts, and even their academics saved reminding them to be ready, a warning that some college students took critically, and a few didn’t. “The Cambridge exams authorities realized that student-assessed grades would not work this time as beforehand college students didn’t just like the grades they got, evoking an outcry throughout the board,” explains Alam who based mostly on his first-year grades has already been accepted right into a college.
Alam received into the College of Arizona as a result of many US universities, in contrast to those within the UK and another areas, supply admission on the anticipated grades of the first-year outcomes. “For almost all of the US universities, second-year grades don’t matter, and courses begin earlier than the ultimate outcomes. Clearly, grades matter in attainment of scholarships,” says Alam, including that the principles fluctuate from area to area. In Pakistan, virtually all universities depend on their entrance exams and never simply earlier outcomes. They’ve an eligibility criterion however that’s minimal, as 80 p.c of candidates simply get to sit down for the doorway examination.
CIE additionally offers college students the chance to re-appear within the October-November sequence of exams, however in that case, outcomes are available January, and college students need to skip one semester. “I needed to give the Oct-Nov sequence again in 2021 once I was in O-levels as a result of I didn’t take scholar assessed grades. I’m not somebody who research the entire yr, and people grades would have affected my total grades,” Alam shares. He’s already admitted into a school as as a result of pandemic faculties have been very lenient and eliminated many necessities. Nonetheless, as the present scenario is only associated to Pakistan, international universities will observe their very own guidelines with out giving the candidates any concessions.
Dad and mom’ issues
Distress of scholars is a big deal, however they don’t seem to be the one ones struggling. Dad and mom additionally undergo quite a bit with issues about their youngsters’s future. Fatima Nouman, mom of two, has been fairly affected from the final 4 years of examination associated issues. Each of her youngsters are within the CIE system. “My son was taking this examination as composite as he was giving AS and A2 collectively, which was quite a bit for him, and subsequently this cancellation was an enormous setback,” she sighed. Nouman added that as Cambridge has comparable guidelines, programs, papers and criterion for India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the examination system can be the identical. Cancellation of 1 paper means the edge of different can be compromised if any retake is to be demanded. Say, 10,000 college students from Pakistan have missed the paper, for them it is like ranging from scratch.
Speaking in regards to the influence that examination cancellation leaves on a scholar, Nouman mentioned that youngsters are largely comfortable as a result of they’re freed of the stress of giving an examination or scoring effectively. And if their grades are low, they’d have the excuse of cancellation of their papers. They don’t realise the long-term penalties and the way it might influence their prospects. “With aid, they’re additionally upset as a result of they research the entire yr; this one-day discover cancellation earlier than the examination causes disruption of their tutorial routines,” Nouman defined.
In Nouman’s opinion, college students of CIE are at an obstacle in such circumstances the place there may be one examination system, and college students are given grades accordingly. Whereas in the course of the pandemic, in native boards and examination programs equivalent to FSc, college students got very beneficiant grades. “FSc college students received percentages in 90s though they needed to undergo the entire yr, however ultimately their grades have been good and that helped them get into good fields, whereas CIE college students needed to undergo deduction in conversions as effectively,” she mentioned with disappointment in her voice.
Nouman additionally emphasised that CIE ought to give you a long-term answer as essentially the most appropriate plan of action within the occasion of cancellation of examinations. “We count on the CIE to have clear tips in case of any examination cancellation and plan of action for grades. They need to talk their insurance policies via their social media pages and make their associate colleges talk it to college students and oldsters to minimize the distress. When one thing like this occurs, we’re clueless what’s subsequent and who could have clear and correct solutions to our queries,” Nouman defined, including that there ought to be a contingency plan for such occasions in future.
It isn’t a easy matter for any examination conducting physique to cancel exams, however at time, the scenario is unmanageable. The CIE needed to take the undesirable step. With the current cancellation of exams as a result of political unrest within the nation, the CIE cancelled two papers that they initially introduced wouldn’t be re-taken, however you will need to the CIE that college students proceed with their schooling safely and with none disruption. “We’ll maintain alternative exams for Cambridge Worldwide A Degree Arithmetic and A Degree Historical past on 21 June, permitting all affected A2 Degree college students whose exams have been cancelled from 10-12 Could, to acquire leads to these two topics. Cambridge college students affected by the examination cancellations between 10-12 Could will obtain ‘assessed marks.’ These marks are calculated based mostly on the papers college students accomplished in the identical examination sequence,” acknowledged CIE Pakistan Nation Director Uzma Yousuf. She added that they’ve communicated this choice and supplied additional data to Cambridge colleges on Could 19, 2023.
With the confusion amongst college students about assessed marks based mostly on efficiency, Yousuf mentioned that the method of calculating assessed marks based mostly on scholar’s efficiency in the identical examination sequence is a dependable and well-established course of. “The method doesn’t benefit or drawback college students, and outcomes are acknowledged and accepted by universities and employers worldwide.”
Rescheduling dilemma
Cancellation of exams isn’t merely tough for college kids; it additionally creates issues of rescheduling and assessing college students on their means. “Regardless of the challenges posed by the pandemic, we have now held exams worldwide, together with in Pakistan, for the previous three years. In June 2021, though some exams have been delayed, we made provisions for alternative exams in June and November of the identical yr. The one exception was in June 2020 when strict Covid protocols prevented us from holding exams, and we supplied colleges worldwide the choice of predicted grades,” the nation director defined. At Cambridge, she says, they guarantee equal and honest remedy for all college students in each scenario, and their outcomes maintain world recognition and acceptance from universities and employers. College students who’ve confusion may also go to the web site to raised perceive the grade calculation mechanism.
Despair from which the CIE college students undergo is not any completely different or worse than what the native examination system college students undergo, be it the matriculation or the intermediate board. One such story of struggling is that of the 16-year-old Rameen Imran and her mom Nida Imran. That is Rameen’s third yr for boards, and he or she has confronted nothing however issues. “When it was her class ninth examination two years in the past, on the eleventh hour it was introduced that there can be an examination however of the condensed syllabus. Though the entire tutorial yr was already shifted to on-line courses as a result of covid, no clear directions have been conveyed by the boards at the moment,” Nida says. Regardless of a last-minute announcement, no SOPs and particulars in regards to the examination schedule and syllabus have been shared. It was the yr after the exams have been cancelled, and her daughter was showing for her boards for the primary time.
Their struggling didn’t finish there. Examination centres weren’t geared up to cater to college students’ wants—no lights and fan, no cell community to contact their households after the examination was over. “Attributable to covid and strict SOPs, college students have been purported to put on masks on a regular basis, and within the month of June with no gentle and fan, many college students fainted as a result of suffocation and dehydration in the course of the examination,” Rameen’s mom shared with me. The mom of three additionally remembers that there have been some countrywide protests throughout her daughter’s final yr exams. Accompanied by her husband, she was standing exterior the centre to choose up their daughter, fearful if they might safely attain dwelling—Imran Khan was holding a sit-in in Islamabad and Faizabad was additionally blocked. Rumours have been rife that Karachi would even be shutting down. Petrol pumps have been closed, and so they didn’t have sufficient petrol to achieve dwelling.
“This yr we have now been in limbo for the final two months. Intermediate exams occur yearly, however about two weeks in the past, it was introduced that this yr, second-year exams after which first-year exams can be held,” Imran shared. Now the entire of July will likely be consumed in Rameen’s exams, and from August the brand new session will begin. Subsequent yr the second-year exams will likely be carried out in Could, whereas college students will solely have eight months to organize for a yr’s course. The examination schedule is problematic for your entire household. Her two younger sons have summer season holidays, however as a household they can not plan any trip or out-of-city journey as a result of her daughter’s exams have been delayed by a month.
Because the final 4 years, the scenario throughout or round exams is tough for a lot of college students, however essentially the most affected ones are those that are of their second yr. In 2020, when the cancellation occurred it was their first time for board exams. In 2021, they needed to seem for exams on a brief discover with condensed syllabus, which was not correctly conveyed and solely had optionally available topic papers. In 2022, as a result of political unrest some exams have been disrupted, and lots of college students confronted issues in reaching their examination centres. In 2023, the Karachi board didn’t cancel exams however as a result of law-and-order scenario many college students confronted difficulties in reaching the examination centres.
Cancellation of exams is a aid for some however for almost all, it’s a course of that builds stress and impacts their efficiency. “The tempo breaks if any paper is cancelled; a scholar might have deliberate for 2 months the methods to review, revise and follow, however all of that will get tousled when a paper is cancelled,” shared Kashaf Shakeel who’s about to look in her class twelve exams. She additionally instructed me that cancellation a day earlier than the examination modifications nothing however solely will increase frustration as a result of one has already studied the entire yr, or not less than a month earlier than the examination. This will solely profit those who simply don’t need to research, however college students who’re working actually onerous to get into good fields and universities undergo essentially the most.
The younger pre-medical scholar mentioned that the nation’s schooling system isn’t just in shambles however can be making the younger lot hate it due to the fixed fear of exams—whether or not they are going to be held on time or not. Individuals answerable for the system simply situation a letter.