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Angry students attacked BSEK
« on: March 28, 2010, 08:07:30 AM »
Angry students attacked BSEK
Karachi:The ongoing controversy surrounding the Secondary School Certificate examinations took a nasty turn on Saturday when angry students attacked the office of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) after the Islamiat paper was postponed. The decision came after the board received information that the paper was leaked just hours before the exam.

Controller of Examination BSEK Kalim Asghar Kirmani postponed the Islamiat and Ethics paper of the SSC exams, Science Group, hours before the paper was supposed to start. Kirmani said that the postponed paper will now be held on April 16.

The first Matric paper was scheduled for March, 27 (Saturday), but a few hours before the examination, the BSEK received information that the Islamiat paper had been leaked and was being circulated through SMS. On this, the BSEK decided to postpone the paper which was due in the second shift.

The BSEK had received information regarding the availability of the paper at around 12:30pm but it did not inform the teachers and examination centre superintends, who were present at the board office to collect the papers, till 1:20pm.

However, after a brief meeting between Chairman BSEK Anzar Hussain Zaidi, Secretary, Hoor Bi Mazhar and Kirmani, the board announced the postponement of the paper at 1:20pm.

Meanwhile, angry youngsters and students gathered outside the BSEK building between 1:45 and 2pm and chanted slogans against the management, slating the poor performance of the board. A group of the students present at the BSEK compound turned violent and vented their frustration by damaging the property on the site.

The rampaging students smashed the tube lights, ceiling fans, windows and furniture of the Accounts Section. During this, Tariq, a junior clerk of the Accounts Section, received a head injury.

Meanwhile, a police van deployed at a petrol pump, situated next to the board office, left the place as soon as the students started pelting stones at the BSEK building and passers-by. The students also forced nearby shops as well as the pump to shutdown their businesses.

Later, the protesters left the BSEK premises and staged a sit-in at the main gate. They started pelting stones at the building again and ended up injuring several students who were standing outside the building.

Despite several calls to the local police and Rangers, the law enforcers arrived at around 2:30pm at the Board Office. Police arrested 18 youngsters for attacking and damaging public property. However, Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad directed the police to release them.

Apart from protesting at the Board Office, the students took to the streets in various areas after receiving information regarding the postponement of the paper. Gulshan-e-Iqbal including NIPA and Hasan Square, as well as MA Jinnah Road, Karimabad, Jahangirabad, Jahangir Road, Korangi Roads were blocked by the protestors, which led to massive traffic jams.

It is worth noting that the BSEK had already cancelled the first two papers of Class IX and X each (Science and General Group) scheduled on March 24 and 25 after the Sindh governor intervened in the matter when thousands of students protested against the Board for not issuing their admit cards.

Regular and private candidates could not take advantage of the deadline given by the BSEK and also failed to submit their examination forms during March 16 to 18, after special permission was given by the Board on Dr Ebad’s directives. During this extension, at least 4, 652 candidates submitted their examination forms along with the late fees. However, hundreds of private and regular students staged a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road on the night between 22 and 23 March to protest against the non-issuance of their admit cards.

To prevent any untoward situation, the governor, who is also the controlling authority, had postponed the annual examinations for two days and directed the Board Office to allow the regular candidates to submit the examination forms. As many as 2, 000 students took advantage of the relaxation and collected their admit cards from the BSEK to appear in the exams. Many private candidates enrolled themselves as regular students of public and private education sector to participate in the annual exams. Even then, things went out of control when law-enforcers, including Rangers and police baton-charged hundreds of students and their parents who gathered outside the BSEK office to collect their admit cards.

On Saturday, the students’ lashed out at the Board Office and termed the postponement an injustice. The parents said that the Board Office should take serious action against the people involved in corruption and conduct papers without further interruption. They added that the mistake occurred at the Board’s end but it is the students who are suffering and paying for no fault of their own.

captionPolice disperse a crowd of protesting students on the University Road —The News photo by Naqeeb-ur-Rehman

caption2

A sms showing the leaked paper
The news