Zubair Qureshi
The O and A Level exams, scheduled for Wednesday, May 25 were postponed by the British Council which conducts the examinations.
The announcement came after the PTI chose the day for its “Azadi March” against the government resulting in several precautionary measures by public and private sector schools and educational institutions.
Exams in other parts of the country will continue as per schedule,” the British Council said in a statement adding the exams due on May 26 (today) and onwards would continue as per plan.
According to the statement, the British Council submitted the special consideration request to the board for all exams components (AM/PM) cancelled on May 25, 2022. The details about the process hae been shared with schools and private candidates, the statement further said.
Exams from 26 May and onwards are scheduled to continue as per plan. If there are any further changes to the schedule, the British Council will inform schools and candidates in due course, the statement said.
Not only O and A Level exams, earlier the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) and Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Rawalpindi also postponed Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Part II papers.
According to a notification issued by FBISE, papers which were to be held on Wednesday and Thursday (today) have been postponed.
On the other hand, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) also postponed class 5th and 8th centralized papers that were to be held on Wednesday under its supervision.
Similarly, educational activities at Islamic International University (IIU) National University of Modern Languages and NUST also remained suspended. These three universities are located along Srinagar Highway, where PTI is planning to stage protests and the long march.
Following the announcement to delay the O/A level exams, students and parents have expressed their concerns.
Nyla, whose daughter is appearing in her A2 exams, said, “Last year, when my daughter was appearing in her A1 exams, the exams were called off due to the pandemic and as a result, she had to appear in the October / November session.”
She claimed that the grade threshold for certain subjects — like business, psychology, and sociology — was so high that students attained an overall bad result when they appeared in the October / November session.
“Now, the same thing will be happening to this batch once again. Students prepare for the June exams but because of the gap, they have to prepare for the October/ November session again, which lowers their enthusiasm.”
Rizwana, an A2 student also expressed similar worries saying her main concern was getting into a university on time.
“Appearing in the October/ November session because of the cancellation of the exam right means I will get my results in January 2023. Consequently, I shall not be able to start university this September and will have to wait for the whole year,” she said.
