KARACHI: Mismanagement, prolonged loadshedding and widespread complaints of a last-minute change of exam centres marred the smooth holding of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations that commenced here on Monday.

The first paper, three-hour Computer Science (theory) for SSC Part 1, or class nine, reportedly started on time at 9:30am at all the 524 exam centres set up by the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK).

But this year there was much confusion seen among the candidates due to many overnight centres’ changes. It is not that this has not happened before, but this time there were just so many centre changes and that too at the eleventh hour.

BSEK chairman Syed Sharaf Ali Shah conceded the last minute shifting of centres. “The schools we had made the exam centres came up with all kinds of excuses such as construction work under way at their schools, shortage of staff, etc,” he told Dawn.

SSC exam’s first day marred by mismanagement, confusion

“This all happened with the private school centres, mind you. And what can one say to private schools? Still, we made them take the responsibility to inform the candidates, who had their centres with them, about the change. We also asked them to let the children, who still arrived there to appear for their exams, to take their exams as their time should not be wasted at any cost,” he added.

Another huge issue during the exam’s initial day was rampant power loadshedding. Complaints about students having to take their exams in extreme heat and in dark classrooms were coming from all over, especially from Malir, Landhi and PECHS.

At the secondary boys’ section of Gulistan Shah Abdul Latif School in Sindhi Muslim Society, there was something very strange going on as the students were saying that there was no electricity at the exam centre since morning when they had arrived to take the exam at 9:30am while the school principal, Nayyar Alam, said there was no power since 11.30am.

Later, it was discovered that they had run out of fuel for the school generator at around 11:30am. “What to do? We have been running back and forth to the petrol pump to get fuel to run the generator, but it also dries up due to such an extended power failure,” he said.

After that when more fuel was brought for the generator again, there was another revelation: the said generator was a really small one that could only power the principal’s office. He had been sending staff to fetch fuel to only keep his own office cool. The students, meanwhile, carried on with their exams in the heat and dark.

“It’s okay. My parents said to me a few days ago that this is only my first big exam, but there will be more exams in my life to brace for,” said a young boy seated right in the back of a classroom.

“But it is not okay,” the BSEK chairman said, after being told how the students were braving hardships. “A class nine student is really young and he or she is already under mental pressure due to the exams. It is not right to make life more difficult for these children by making them sweat in the heat as they solve their papers,” he said.

“The matric board as well as the minister for universities and boards had written to K-Electric to refrain from loadshedding during the morning and afternoon exam shifts, but here is the result of that exercise,” he threw his hands up in the air.

“K-Electric listens to no one and does as it pleases. But the power utility really ought to have a heart,” he added.

Asked about cheating practices and the bad habit of students of bringing mobile phones to exam centres, Mr Shah said there should be a rule against it. “In Punjab, all mobile phones found on students at examination centres are simply confiscated. We need to do the same in Sindh. It will automatically fix this issue at least,” he said.

Meanwhile, not many exam centres had any security as had been promised to them by the government. When the BSEK chairman was asked about that, he said they on their part had requested for security of course and if it was not to be seen then, well, that’s a shame.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2023