Teachers questions Pindi board’s integrity, blame corrupt officers. PHOTO: FILE
The numbers of students who received failing grades but later passed after rechecking has put a question mark over the marking procedure adopted for the year-end exams for class nine held under the Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (RBISE).
RBISE sources told The Express Tribune that due to “blunders” made by the board, hundreds of brilliant students failed, but passed after the rechecking process.
They said the blunders have put the future of a “sizable” number of students at stake as a large number of students could not apply for rechecking.
According to documents available with The Express Tribune, four students from Government Boys High School Parial, Rawalpindi, who appeared in 9th grade exams this year failed, but later, BISE issued pass certificates after rechecking, and teachers said that this is just the tip of iceberg.
Faizan Ali from the Science Group failed in computer science, obtaining four marks out of 75. However, after rechecking, it transpired that Ali actually got 54 marks and passed quite comfortably. His classmate Muhammad Arif also failed the same subject, but passed after rechecking. According to the board’s records, he originally got two marks out of 75, but after rechecking it transpired that he got 61.
Muhammad Wajahat and Jibran Sadiq also ‘failed’ computer science, but passed after rechecking.
When contacted, Tazeem Jafri, a senior teacher at the same school, said that in 2013, RBISE deliberately failed hundreds of students just to mint money in the name of rechecking and supplementary exams.
He said that the students who failed and later passed were all outstanding. “When we received the result cards we were shocked. Later, we encouraged the students to apply for rechecking, and they passed comfortably. This is the situation at just one school. One can only imagine the situation in the entire district,” he said.
He noted that a large number of students from other schools were also unable to apply for rechecking. Talking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Teachers Union Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood accused corrupt elements in RBISE of deliberately failing hundreds of students just to mint money, explaining that the board take Rs770 for rechecking fee and Rs650 as supplementary exam fee.
Private School Associations Rawalpindi Chapter President Abrar Ahmed Khan also doubted the intention of the RBISE. He said that along with the large number of government school students declared failing, hundreds of brilliants students from private schools also failed.
RBISE spokesman Arslan Cheema claimed that the board announced a transparent result. He said that in some cases, there were reports of computer error. When asked how four passing students from the same school could have been given failing grades, he said that board will hold an inquiry into this.
Cheema said that there is no question of minting money in the name of rechecking as the board is bound to refund fee to students who pass after rechecking.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2014.
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