GILGIT, April 8: Over 10,000 students of higher secondary schools and colleges affiliated with the newly-established Karakoram Board in Northern Areas may not be able to take their annual examinations owing to the uncertain situation prevailing in Gilgit for the past three months.

The board which functions under the Karakoram International University (KIU)

has been lying closed since Jan 8 in the wake of sectarian clashes.

Informed sources said that owing to sporadic violence in the area, employees of various government departments were reluctant to attend their duties and the KIU was no exception.

The KIU sources said that they had not been able even to draw an outline for preparing the question papers what to talk of other preparations to be made for the examinations.

The secondary and higher secondary school examinations in the area are normally held in April and May. The sources feared that the students might lose their academic year if the situation was not improved.

Meanwhile, students of three high and two middle schools owned by the Aga Khan Education Service criticized the affiliation of these institutions with the Karakoram board which, they said, had been done despite opposition from parents and students.

Official sources said it had been decided to reopen these schools but their headmasters and headmistresses refused to own any responsibility should any untoward incident took place in the institutions.

It’s worth mentioning that some private and public schools affiliated with the federal board have conducted examinations amid tight security.

The sources said that some private schools were considering de-affiliation with the KIU board, partly because of its falling standard and partly for its lack of expertise to conduct the examination on time.

Education department sources said that almost all the schools and colleges in Gilgit had been rendered into residential camps for the personnel of paramilitary forces who had been deployed in the city following riots. These sources ruled out resumption of classes until these buildings were vacated.

The threats of instigating curriculum-driven riots is another reason which deters authorities to reopen schools in Gilgit and the issue is still lingering on for the past three years, the sources maintained.