QUETTA: Hundreds of intermediate students in Quetta, who were declared failed in intermediate examinations, staged a violent protest outside the Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BBISE) on Monday against the alleged irregularities in the recently announced F.A. and F.Sc. results.

The enraged students, who demanded that their examination papers be scrutinised, pelted stones and smashed windows of the building.

They tried to enter the BBISE premises but when stopped they took to burning car tyres to vent their anger at the authorities.

Two students and a police official sustained injuries during the demonstration.

Police resorted to baton charge and tear gas to disperse the unruly mob. The group of students which tried to enter the BBISE office were pushed away by police and security guards.

The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital Quetta where doctors said that their condition was out of danger.

According to the announced results, only 7,710 candidates passed out of the 26,883 students who appeared in the examination.

Shaukat Ali, the Secretary Education BBISE announced that "due to technical reasons, there are faults in the results of 500 candidates".

Earlier, the Balochistan government launched an anti-cheating drive in Quetta and other parts of the province to ensure quality of education. However, candidates complained that the education department enforced strict rules against cheating only in Quetta, while unfair means were still rampant in other districts of Balochistan.

One of the protesting students told Dawn.com during the demonstration that the board of education had 'deliberately' awarded them failing marks.

A huge contingent of police reached the scene and baton-charged the protesting students before things went out of hand.

Later, the protesting students blocked Hockey Chowk near the chief minister's secretariat and Governor House, where law enforcement demonstrated aerial firing to disperse the protesting students.

Police took more than 50 students into their custody to normalise the situation.

The BBISE secretary Shaukat Ali however assured students that their grievances would be addressed and the technical faults would be rectified immediately.

Most of the protesting students complained that most "influential" candidates were provided cheating-material, which made it easier for them to pass while the others were left to fail the examination.