RECENTLY, the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) announced the result of FSc parts I and II examinations that have taken many by surprise. Students, who had prepared diligently throughout the year, and their parents, who had left no stone unturned for the academic success of their children, feel that they have been let down rather badly.

Students who had topped all exami-nations in their colleges, obtained average marks in the board exami-nations, with many who have barely passed certain subjects. On the flip side, many who had attempted an entire ‘long question’ wrongly miraculously ended up getting seriously high marks in that subject.

Such instances of sheer negligence on the part of the examiners and the regulatory body have, for years, haunted our education system. Examiners consider checking papers as a means to make money: the more papers they check in a specific time, the more is the money they make.

So, without paying the least bit of attention to what is written and what is not, a majority of the examiners just skim through the answer sheets, randomly awarding marks to brilliant and below-average students alike. This is like playing with the future of so many students.

After the introduction of ‘e-sheets’ in the FBISE, matters have gone worse. A system has been put in place without actually knowing how to maintain transparency in it. As revealed by subsequent retotalling of the examination copies, a couple of questions almost always remain unmarked on the answer booklet and are, hence, excluded from the total marks. Parents have to pay a fair amount of money for each subject’s rechecking, mind you.

As things stand, students are left with two options. They either pay Rs1,500 per subject for the so-called ‘rechecking’, a misnomer for the actual process which is simply retotalling of the marks and not rechecking. Or, they should accept their fate and move forward, giving up their career choices that require higher marks.

In either case, a huge question mark hangs over the entire system, which has disappointed the students and their parents, shattered their dreams and introduced ‘innovative’ measures, such as e-sheets and remote checking by examiners without ensuring the least bit of transparency.

Is there anyone in the system who can serve justice to the meritorious students who work hard for a career, but are left frustrated due to FBISE lethargy?

Muhammad Majid Shafi
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2023