No delay or cancellation in CAIE exams, confirms Shafqat

Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced on Sunday that A, AS, O level and IGCSE exams will take place as per the date sheet announced by the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), and there will be no delay or cancellation.

The decision, he informed, was taken at a special meeting of health and education ministers of all provinces including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), Shafqat wrote on his official Twitter handle.

However, he added that students wishing to take their Cambridge exams in the October/November session instead will be allowed to do so in the same fee they have paid already.

“[The] Meeting was also informed that Cambridge has decided not to give teacher assessed grades this year therefore those not taking exams will take them in the next cycle Oct/Nov. Cambridge also assured that all SOPs will be strictly followed,” the education minister wrote.

Moreover, the education minister stated that classes for grades 9 to 12 will commence in a staggered manner in all affected districts, to allow students to prepare for their board exams.

The meeting also decided that exams for the aforementioned classes will take place according to the new date sheets announced by the provincial education boards.

Read Punjab to resume physical classes for grades 9-12 from Monday

“This means [exams] will not start before 4th week of May,” the minister wrote, adding that, “University admissions schedule will be adjusted keeping in view the new exam time table.”

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The meeting further decided that universities in affected districts will continue conducting classes online while districts with less than eight per cent positivity will be allowed to hold physical classes. Furthermore, classes 1 to 8 were decided to remain suspended across the country.

“The following decisions were taken with complete consensus,” said the federal education minister.

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Previously, the government decided to extend the closure of schools – classes 1 to 8 – in the districts most affected by the coronavirus till the 28th of April.

Speaking to the media, Shafqat said that classes 9 to 12 would resume from April 19, even in the most-affected districts with strict adherence to the precautionary standard operating procedures (SOPs), while the board exams would be held from the third week of May.

“These classes [1 to 8] can take place online but there will be no physical presence during the sessions,” he said. “It is the prerogative of the provinces to decide as to which of their districts are most affected and require strict measures.”

The decisions were taken in a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – the government’s unified effort against the pandemic. The education minister said that the NCOC would review the situation on April 28.