Crisis deepens at education boards, risking students' future

The Sindh government's decision to assign dual charge of two major educational boards in the metropolitan city to one officer has resulted in administrative chaos, leaving the academic future of hundreds of students hanging in the balance.

The chairman of Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) and Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK), Ghulam Hussain Sohoo, has been unable to effectively discharge his responsibilities due to excessive workload and divided focus, sources within the Provincial Education Department revealed to The Express Tribune. As a result, several administrative and examination-related processes, particularly at BIEK, have suffered major setbacks.

The most critical issue at present is the non-issuance of scrutiny results for first-year students of BIEK. Despite repeated appeals from BIEK officials, teachers, and students, Chairman Sohoo has reportedly refused to sign the scrutiny files, endangering the future of hundreds of students - who appeared in their first-year exams last year.

Students have already taken their second-year exams and have applied for admission to public and private universities based on their first-year marks. The delay in scrutiny results has placed their university admissions in jeopardy, raising fears that many could lose an entire academic year.

In protest, a large number of students and their parents gathered outside the chairman's office at the BIEK on Friday, shouting slogans and holding placards against the chairman. The protestors expressed deep frustration, saying that students have been visiting the BIEK office for several months without being granted a meeting with the chairman, who is often reported as "unavailable."

The students have now appealed to the controlling authority — the chief minister of Sindh — to intervene and ensure immediate release of the scrutiny results.

Separately, serious concerns were raised regarding cheating during the BIEK exams this year. A monitoring team of the board, acting on reports of mass cheating, conducted a raid at SM Arts and Commerce College and discovered organised cheating on the rooftop.

The team confiscated 44 mobile phones and cheating material, but the examination centre administration reportedly returned the confiscated items to the alleged cheating mafia. No official action or FIR was registered, raising further questions over governance and accountability at the board.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) Karachi Region and the All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) BIEK Unit have also voiced serious concerns over the current state of affairs at BIEK.