Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) has hinted that it may give compensatory marks to science students who attempted a matriculation mathematics paper which contained several flaws.
The mathematics paper, conducted by RBISE on March 2 during the morning and evening sessions, contained some mistakes which have been verified by the relevant department, said Controller Examinations Malik Mohsin.
Speaking to APP, he said that the issue was taken up with the relevant department after a section of the media pointed out the mistakes in the Mathematics examination paper.
He added the department has decided to launch an inquiry into the matter through a committee which will comprise subject specialists. A final decision regarding the award of compensatory marks will be taken by the committee after evaluating the mistakes in the two papers. Mohsin further pledged to take action against those responsible for this lapse and to avoid embarrassment in the future.
RBISE rules suggest that compensatory marks can only be granted to those students who have attempted the faulty questions, Mohsin explained.
Parents, however, have rejected this stance, maintaining that the award of compensatory marks to only those who attempted the question was irrational as it may benefit some students who attempted the questions without understanding the mistake in the question.
"Every student who attempted the paper must be accommodated," parents stressed unanimously.
"The board must also accommodate those students who did not choose the fallacious questions due to carelessness of the board officials," demanded Zobia Pervaiz, the mother of a student who did not attempt the allegedly erroneous question.
Pervaiz went on to argue that not accommodating students like her child could cost students a place in college as every single mark counted in the merit lists of quality institutions.
She urged the board to facilitate every student of science group as an incorrect question was not their fault.
"I am astonished how a question paper can carry such big mistakes when it goes through many expert hands," Pervaiz said.
Shazia Arshad, the mother of another student, said that normally students are given a choice to attempt any three questions out of five in subjective part of the mathematics' paper but one fallacious question minimizes their choice and can end up costing students up to eight marks.
"The limited choice in papers left students confused and affected their overall attempt at the exam against which compensatory marks should be given to them," demanded Saba Hameed, another mother.
"My son is very competitive and fights for every single mark but RBISE's blunder has badly affected his preparations for the remaining papers," she said.
Question papers tabled in both sessions carried technical mistakes. An equation in Question-7, Part 'A' in the morning session mentioned a ‘B’ compliment but instead, it should only have been ‘B’. Similarly, question-6 of Part-A in the second session contained a flawed question where the sign of a 'theta' should have been listed in place of '8'.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2020.
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