Several students protested, arguing why they should have to buy and pay for the other 3 forms that they did not need.
KARACHI: The Karachi Intermediate Board Office website has several forms available for download, but intriguingly, the form for improvement of marks or grades is not available, much to the chagrin of the students desiring to improve their marks by reappearing in the papers of Class XI. This is the form which is in most demand and hundreds of copies of it are sold daily.
I visited the Intermediate Board Office in Nazimabad the other day to obtain the said form. There, I was told that I would have to buy a set of four forms as, according to the dealing clerk, the Improvement Form was not available separately. Several students protested against this, arguing why they should have to buy and pay for the other three forms that they do not need at all. But all arguments and protests fell on deaf ears. The dealing clerk brazenly remained adamant and the students had to give in. All the students were made to buy the four forms at a price of Rs40 each, though the printed price on each form is Rs35. Thus, each student had to pay Rs160, i.e., Rs125 more than what he would have normally paid had he not been forced to buy three extra forms. The officials concerned are requested to kindly look into the matter and put an end to this coercion and blatant fleecing.
A concerned student
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2013.
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