Elementary mistake: Administrative blunder puts ninth-graders’ future at stake

Exams reflected new course content that wasn’t included in original syllabus.

ISLAMABAD:

Ninth-grader Muhammad Waseem Bari was all set to take his chemistry paper before discovering that the questions did not even vaguely resemble what had been taught in class.

Waseem’s academic fate and that of over 30 of his class fellows at the Islamabad Model College for Boys (IMCB) hangs in the balance after they took exams based on the new syllabus they had never studied.

The college administration has reportedly made attempts to bury the matter to avoid embarrassment ahead of results which will be announced on March 31.

“The chemistry course was changed last year but teachers told us not to worry and focus on what was being taught,” said a student, who wished to remain anonymous.

Exams are conducted under the purview of Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE).

According to sources, the new chemistry course for class nine was made available in May 2012 but students of IMCB were not informed about the change.



“We learnt about new books for other chemistry classes but were told not to buy one for our class,” said Waseem, another student.

Waseem and his class fellows shared their concerns with their teacher, Muhammad Azeem, who said the issue would be taken up before the principal.

Azeem claimed he had never taught the old course, implying the students were not telling the truth.

FBISE Examination Controller Tariq Pervaiz told The Express Tribune that name slips for exams should indicate whether the paper was based on the new course.

He added that institutions were requested to inform the board at the earliest of any changes.

“The blame doesn’t lie with us — we know this will impact the future of students, said Pervaiz.

College Principal Chaudhry Ghazanfar said the students were lying about the entire incident.

“We have looked into the issue; teachers say that students are misrepresenting facts,” he added.

The students made a written request to sit exams for the new course, which Ghazanfar signed and forwarded to Pervaiz for consideration.

“If this blame game continues, we will be left with no option but to repeat a year,” said Abbas Ali.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2013.