BSEK declares 70 exam centres as extremely sensitive

Vans carrying examination papers to the centres will be provided with security guards.

KARACHI: Special vigilance teams, constituted at divisional levels across the province to control unfair and illegal practices during matriculation examinations from April 5 to 15, decided at a meeting to prosecute those involved in illegal and unfair activities. The meeting was chaired by Sindh Chief Minister’s principal secretary, Agha Jan Akhtar.

Akhtar said that deputy inspector generals of police have been directed to arrange foolproof security across all examination centres.

Meanwhile, the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) declared at least 70 examination centres as “extremely sensitive.” Nearly six of these centres are reportedly in Lyari, 24 in Orangi Town, and the rest in Landhi, Korangi, Baldia Town, Shah Faisal Colony, Gadap and Bin Qasim areas. The board has asked the provincial government to deploy rangers at these centres.

It may be recalled that many of these areas have been in grips of violence over the last couple of weeks, and have witnessed deaths of numerous residents in targeted attacks.

BSEK chairman Prof Muhammad Saeed Siddiqui said that if need arose, the board may transfer these sensitive centres to relatively peaceful adjoining localities.

BSEK’s controller of examinations, Prof Rafia Mallah, said that BSEK had set up 250 examination centers this year, with 128 of them in public schools while the rest of them in private schools. Male candidates will take their exams in 65 public and 67 private schools, while female candidates will take theirs in 63 public and 55 private schools. Prof Mallah added that school principals will act as the senior superintendents during examinations, while the vigilance teams, consisting of 125 members, will ensure that the exams be conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

While discussing measures taken by BSEK to stop question papers from getting leaked before the exams, Prof Siddiqui said that security guards will be deployed in vans that will deliver these papers to the respective examination centres. “If any of the board’s staff is found involved in wrongdoing or collusion with the cheating mafias, the board will remove them from service.” In order to curb any external intervention during the exams, BSEK has directed all centres to have only a single entryway to their buildings.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2012.