Weak students allowed to sit exams

RAWALPINDI:

Government Alpha Christian Girls High School Principal on Tuesday handed over roll number slips to the students a day after they were barred from sitting in the matriculation examination that has kicked off under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi.

The development comes after The Express Tribune carried the news that several slow-witted students were stopped by the school principal from sitting in the English paper.

Earlier, the principal of the said school had withheld the roll number slips of several students issued by the BISE Rawalpindi.

In Rawalpindi, the first paper of English of matric was held on Monday. However, several female students were not allowed to enter the examination room as they had no roll number slips because they had been withheld by the principal of the school.

SSC-II student Rida Arshad, who was barred by school Principal Madam Rehana from appearing in the examination, earlier told The Express Tribune that she hailed from a low-income household and he father barely pays her fee by working as a taxi driver.

She said that when she went to the school to pick up her roll number slip, the principal rudely told her that she was not capable to sit in the exam. The school principal shoved her away.

She had said that she could not appear in the English paper since the principal refused to release her the roll number slip that the Rawalpindi board had issued.

She had alleged that the roll number slips of several girls had been withheld by the principal, only allowing so-called intelligent girls to appear in the exam to get better results and positions in the examination.

Earlier, Rawalpindi Education Authority CEO Dr Qazi Tariq had said that an inquiry would be initiated against the principal as no such instructions had been issued by him.

When approached by the phone to get his version for not initiating an inquiry into the episode, he dropped the call saying that he was busy in a meeting.

Several questions were sent to him via WhatsApp and he said that the CEO office did not issue instructions to any school in the district to hold back the roll number slips of slow learners.

He said that he always emphasised in meetings with principals that quality education should be provided to the children and results will automatically improve.

Dr Tariq did not respond to the question for not initiating the investigation into the matter as several students had been barred from appearing in the English paper of class 10th.

Meanwhile, the students, who were barred from appearing in the English paper, demanded of the Punjab education minister and the chief minister to take notice of the issue and issue instructions to the BISE authorities to allow the students to appear in the English paper.

Rida Rashid said that after the news was published in The Express Tribune, her school principal handed over the roll number slips to all the students.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2023.