The Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) issues statement regretting the inconvenience caused to the students. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Taking full responsibility for the security lapse that compromised the O’ Level exams this year, the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) issued a statement regretting the inconvenience caused to the students.
On Monday, the board had announced that the examination materials of its O’ Level and IGCSE Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat papers leaked before the exams could be held in Pakistan so the two exams will be held again on June 13 and June 14. This led to an uproar among the students, most of whom sat their board exams for the first time.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, CIE chief executive Michael O’Sullivan said he “deeply regretted” the inconvenience caused to the candidates, their families and schools. “This serious lapse in security, for which we must accept responsibility, was not the fault of anyone in Pakistan,” he clarified. On the nature of the security breach, all O’Sullivan said was that, “some candidates saw the content of the question papers prior to sitting the examination.”
O’Sullivan termed this an ‘exceptional’ and ‘highly regrettable’ situation. In order to ensure fairness to all candidates and to uphold the credibility of the qualifications they receive, the CIE announced that all candidates for the affected examinations will retake their exams next week, he said. “We take very seriously our duties to ensure that all the examinations which students take are fair, and that all candidates receive a valid result.”
“These additional sittings will of course not be charged for,” he said. For the candidates who are required to reappear in the two exams, O’Sullivan said that the new papers will be of the same difficulty as the original papers and will be aligned to the syllabus in the same way. “Without any additional preparation, candidates can be expected to perform at the same level as in the original examination.”
If any candidate prefers to withdraw from the examination at this stage, a full refund will be provided, he said, adding that those who wish to take the same exams in November this year will also be allowed to do so without any additional charges.
The CIE chief executive also intends to travel to other cities in Pakistan to provide further explanation to the schools.
British Council FAQs
Meanwhile, the British Council Pakistan had also updated what it called a list of questions that were frequently asked by the candidates about the re-examinations. Those candidates, who are out of the country and asked if they can take the exams from another country, will have to give the council some time for a definite answer, said the website. The CIE was ‘investigating’ this and an updates will be provided soon. The council also clarified that the candidates do not need a new statement of entry for the re-sits as the original statement of entry will be valid.
Why were the students of Pakistan held accountable for the breach when it did not even take place in the country? The council refused to share details on the exact nature of the breach, adding that it was still under investigation. “The CIE can confirm that it has definite evidence that some students in Pakistan had seen the contents of the question papers,” it said. “For this reason, we felt there was no option but to schedule new versions of these papers.”
The British Council added that holding the exams earlier was not possible because of the time required to prepare and despatch question papers.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2013.
COMMENTS (18)
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Why schedule a resit for everyone? Why not disqualify the culprits from the exam only???
@British Council: FYI, not the first time
@Finally: Not the British Council staff but the Pakistani invigilation volunteers are at fault.
@Tahir Ali: Refer it to NAB? For what? This falls out of NAB's mandate.It should be investigated by police.
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui:
wow and we like to call ourselves educated, if your dimwitted mind for one minute think of the fact and things written in the open letter from CIE, and explaining that the Council role is not that of creating papers, it is merely that of facilitating them, you would actually understand the difference between a board and an administrating body. you should have listened to your parents and preferably gotten a better education.
I am surprised why the SC CJ is not taking any suo motu action as yet? Perhaps the Don or his other family members like grandkinds did not appear in the exams.
refer CIE to IHC were justice siddiqui will put Anti terrorism act of 1997or to suo moto fame judiciary
So the CIE has finally woken up. Back in 2004, the Bio and Chem practicals and the Maths paper had been leaked. By the way, the British Council staff itself had been involved. So why this wild goose chase now?
How dumb can CIE be? Don't they known its so easy to get it leaked? When i gave my Alevels back in 2011 i had a group of friends calling students in malaysia, australia, singapore and many other countries prior to a few hours before the exam and consulting on what the paper was about. Say for example, on 21 of may there is a Chemistry paper. It is supposed to be held at 9am, then it means on the same date the paper is going to be held in the whole world at their 9am. Now since Malaysia is 3 hours ahead of pakistan and the exam there finishes at about 10:30am (pak time 7:30am), giving students plenty of time to call the students in malaysia by giving a little sum of money and knowing the paper. Incase the people are wondering who would waste time on making such friends, well it worked pretty easily. Many students made friends through blackpapers.com and helped their fellow friends abroad in Pak, UAE, Bahrain and you name it!
CIE has a failed examination timetable and there is no point in retaking the paper when the methods to obtain the paper is easier this way
If something like this had happened in England, CIE wouldn't have dared to make the students re-sit an exam.
Both of these subjects have incredibly tedious and imbecile exams, based on rote memorization and no application of critical thinking skills. This is particularly troublesome since history and religion can be such fascinating and profitable subjects, with a little curricular imagination. The recycling of nationalist historiography and an empirical memorization based approach to studying religion are among the biggest tragedies of the Pakistani education system, even of the Cambridge imported variety.
This is nothing new. Back in 2006 when I gave my O levels, there were always rumours of the paper getting 'out'. I remember friends of friends huddling together at the examination center and calling those who had actually prepared to solve specific questions, one of which actually showed up. Nevertheless, 98% of candidates gave the exam fair and square. This is a good step by CIE to retake the exam. If the same procedure was adapted by the boards, there would be retakes dozens of times.
“The CIE can confirm that it has definite evidence that some students in Pakistan had seen the contents of the question papers,” it said. “For this reason, we felt there was no option but to schedule new versions of these papers.”
No wonder some students were so upset in taking the tests again! For true students who are always in quest for knowledge a second test and a chance to improve should not make them furious. Let the good students earn it fair and square vs the real cheats.
When the two papers were not set in Pakistan, how come students could see those two papers in Pakistan.
This is not a logical and reasonable reply to understand the clarification.
The incident of British Council in Pakistan has put its intrigity and reputation at stake.
Investigations must be held and the results of investigations must be made public by all means.
This is not SSC or BOIE exams, where exams papers are out prior to the date of actual date of examinations.
If this has happened with the British Council papers, it means that someone from the British Council must have compromised with outsiders.
Is the front page coverage of this linked to its newsworthiness or the fact that its close to the hearts of the express tribune staff? This is neither cruelty, nor injustice and this is all to common in education systems across the globe. This is just a dose of reality for preppy kids to get with the programme. A privilege they enjoy in a country with 30 million plus kids out of school. First there was cruelty because the AC's were not working ,now this.
As for: Why were the students of Pakistan held accountable for the breach when it did not even take place in the country? Well Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat are only compulsory in Pakistan. If this was Physics or Maths it would be the world over. There is no great conspiracy here.
If they are so many problems, vote with your feet. Revert to the matric system.After all werent these the same people who wanted a uniform education system?
It's not the first time that's happened. I gave my CIE exams a few years ago, and several subjects, including Islamiyat, Accounting and Chemistry, had their papers leaked almost every year.
The fact that CIE can't do anything to prevent this just shows how poor the organization's planning is.
Yeh man, refer CIE to NAB