Students protest 'discrepancies' in HSSC results

Call for the reinstatement of manual marking system

ISLAMABAD:

Thousands of students staged a protest outside the Federal Education Board in Islamabad on Tuesday, voicing their outrage over alleged irregularities in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Intermediate Results 2024.

The protesters, who had gathered from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and surrounding areas, chanted slogans against the federal board administration, accusing them of gross incompetence.

The students claimed that despite performing well in their exams, their papers were mishandled, leading to mass failures. According to the protesters, as many as 38,000 students were unfairly marked as failed, with their result sheets indicating a 'supply' status instead of a pass. The students repeatedly requested the federal board to re-check their papers, but they were instead advised to retake the exams. They further alleged that the administration was trying to cover up their mistakes by blaming junior employees.

A heavy police presence was deployed to manage the protest, which saw students demanding the immediate closure of the federal board and action against those responsible for the alleged irregularities.

During the protest, a delegation from the students' action committee met with the secretary of the federal board to present their grievances. The students outlined three key demands, focusing primarily on re-checking their exam papers.

The federal board administration assured the delegation that the complaints regarding paper re-checking would be addressed and agreed to allow any student who applied for re-checking to have their papers reviewed in their presence. Additionally, the federal board committed to forming an investigative committee to look into the allegations of missing papers. These assurances led to the students calling off their protest.

Dr Malik Abrar Hussain, the central president of the All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association, strongly condemned the alleged irregularities in the annual intermediate results.