Exams in interesting times

PUBLISHED
June 04, 2023

KARACHI:

Who would have thought that there can be a time when college students are unhappy and annoyed with the information of cancellation of examinations reasonably than celebrating the concept that they don’t have to take a seat for examinations? The problems which have developed within the within the schooling system in the previous couple of years will not be simply irritating but in addition exhausting for college students who research the entire yr to realize marks in particular topics, however then with out a lot notification, their scheduled examinations are cancelled, and way forward for their research hangs with both projected marks or an general common of different topics.

Within the final 4 years, virtually everybody in Pakistan has suffered due to COVID-19. Hundreds have been laid off. The way forward for the younger turned stagnant with examination cancellations. In 2020, college students who have been making an attempt to go overseas confronted difficulties due to predicted marks. Many have been disadvantaged of the possibility to get into the colleges for which they’d ready.

The scenario worsened this yr when political unrest and deterioration in regulation and order created immense difficulties for college students. In Punjab, Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Training rescheduled examinations, whereas in Sindh examinations occurred as scheduled. Within the wake of the law-and-order scenario, the Cambridge Worldwide Examination (CIE) needed to be cancelled throughout the nation.

College students’ ordeal

The present scenario could have been irritating for a lot of, but it surely has additionally benefitted just a few. Some college students have scored properly specifically elements. “For me, the scenario labored out as a result of every topic has varied elements; for instance, in chemistry I gave three elements within the first yr and needed to give two within the second yr. This yr, it was introduced that due to cancellation of exams, round 18 % of that particular yr’s elements ought to be already given, and solely then one can get common grades of that part,” defined the 18-year-old Huzaifa Alam who sat for his A2 this yr.

Alam mentioned that the scenario labored for him as his first three papers went properly, and he hopes that he has aced them. He shall be given common marks for the elements of the 2 papers that have been cancelled. “For these college students who didn’t do properly in earlier elements, it’s going to ultimately have an effect on their grades,” he defined.

Amidst the continued uncertainty, it was anticipated that the examination schedules may be affected. After the upheavals of 2020 and 2021, everybody had that in thoughts, and even their lecturers stored reminding them to be ready, a warning that some college students took critically, and a few didn’t. “The Cambridge exams authorities realized that student-assessed grades would not work this time as beforehand college students didn’t just like the grades they got, evoking an outcry throughout the board,” explains Alam who primarily based on his first-year grades has already been accepted right into a college.

Alam acquired into the College of Arizona as a result of many US universities, in contrast to those within the UK and another areas, supply admission on the anticipated grades of the first-year outcomes. “For almost all of the US universities, second-year grades don’t matter, and lessons begin earlier than the ultimate outcomes. Clearly, grades matter in attainment of scholarships,” says Alam, including that the foundations range from area to area. In Pakistan, virtually all universities depend on their entrance exams and never simply earlier outcomes. They’ve an eligibility criterion however that’s minimal, as 80 % of candidates simply get to take a seat for the doorway examination.

CIE additionally provides college students the chance to re-appear within the October-November collection of exams, however in that case, outcomes are available in January, and college students must skip one semester. “I needed to give the Oct-Nov collection again in 2021 once I was in O-levels as a result of I didn’t take pupil assessed grades. I’m not somebody who research the entire yr, and people grades would have affected my general grades,” Alam shares. He’s already admitted into a school as as a result of pandemic faculties have been very lenient and eliminated many necessities. Nevertheless, as the present scenario is solely associated to Pakistan, overseas universities will observe their very own guidelines with out giving the candidates any concessions.

Mother and father’ considerations

Distress of scholars is a large deal, however they don’t seem to be the one ones struggling. Mother and father additionally undergo lots with considerations about their kids’s future. Fatima Nouman, mom of two, has been fairly affected from the final 4 years of examination associated issues. Each of her kids are within the CIE system. “My son was taking this examination as composite as he was giving AS and A2 collectively, which was lots for him, and due to this fact this cancellation was an enormous setback,” she sighed. Nouman added that as Cambridge has comparable guidelines, programs, papers and criterion for India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the examination system can be the identical. Cancellation of 1 paper means the brink of different can be compromised if any retake is to be demanded. Say, 10,000 college students from Pakistan have missed the paper, for them it is like ranging from scratch.

Speaking in regards to the impression that examination cancellation leaves on a pupil, Nouman mentioned that youngsters are largely joyful as a result of they’re freed of the strain of giving an examination or scoring properly. And if their grades are low, they might have the excuse of cancellation of their papers. They don’t realise the long-term penalties and the way it might impression their prospects. “With aid, they’re additionally upset as a result of they research the entire yr; this one-day discover cancellation earlier than the examination causes disruption of their tutorial routines,” Nouman defined.

In Nouman’s opinion, college students of CIE are at a drawback in such instances the place there’s one examination system, and college students are given grades accordingly. Whereas throughout the pandemic, in native boards and examination methods equivalent to FSc, college students got very beneficiant grades. “FSc college students acquired percentages in 90s although they needed to undergo the entire yr, however ultimately their grades have been good and that helped them get into good fields, whereas CIE college students needed to undergo deduction in conversions as properly,” she mentioned with disappointment in her voice.

Nouman additionally emphasised that CIE ought to give you a long-term resolution as essentially the most appropriate plan of action within the occasion of cancellation of examinations. “We anticipate the CIE to have clear pointers in case of any examination cancellation and plan of action for grades. They need to talk their insurance policies via their social media pages and make their accomplice faculties talk it to college students and oldsters to reduce the distress. When one thing like this occurs, we’re clueless what’s subsequent and who can have clear and correct solutions to our queries,” Nouman defined, including that there ought to be a contingency plan for such occasions in future.

It’s not a easy matter for any examination conducting physique to cancel exams, however at time, the scenario is unmanageable. The CIE needed to take the undesirable step. With the latest cancellation of exams because of political unrest within the nation, the CIE cancelled two papers that they initially introduced wouldn’t be re-taken, however it is very important the CIE that college students proceed with their schooling safely and with none disruption. “We are going to maintain substitute exams for Cambridge Worldwide A Stage Arithmetic and A Stage Historical past on 21 June, permitting all affected A2 Stage college students whose exams have been cancelled from 10-12 Might, to acquire ends in these two topics. Cambridge college students affected by the examination cancellations between 10-12 Might will obtain ‘assessed marks.’ These marks are calculated primarily based on the papers college students accomplished in the identical examination collection,” acknowledged CIE Pakistan Nation Director Uzma Yousuf. She added that they’ve communicated this choice and supplied additional data to Cambridge faculties on Might 19, 2023.

With the confusion amongst college students about assessed marks primarily based on efficiency, Yousuf mentioned that the method of calculating assessed marks primarily based on pupil’s efficiency in the identical examination collection is a dependable and well-established course of. “The method doesn’t benefit or drawback college students, and outcomes are acknowledged and accepted by universities and employers worldwide.”

Rescheduling dilemma

Cancellation of exams is just not merely troublesome for college students; it additionally creates issues of rescheduling and assessing college students on their capacity. “Regardless of the challenges posed by the pandemic, we’ve got held exams worldwide, together with in Pakistan, for the previous three years. In June 2021, though some exams have been delayed, we made provisions for substitute exams in June and November of the identical yr. The one exception was in June 2020 when strict Covid protocols prevented us from holding exams, and we supplied faculties worldwide the choice of predicted grades,” the nation director defined. At Cambridge, she says, they guarantee equal and honest remedy for all college students in each scenario, and their outcomes maintain world recognition and acceptance from universities and employers. College students who’ve confusion also can go to the web site to raised perceive the grade calculation mechanism.

Despair from which the CIE college students undergo isn’t any completely different or worse than what the native examination system college students undergo, be it the matriculation or the intermediate board. One such story of struggling is that of the 16-year-old Rameen Imran and her mom Nida Imran. That is Rameen’s third yr for boards, and she or he has confronted nothing however issues. “When it was her class ninth examination two years in the past, on the eleventh hour it was introduced that there can be an examination however of the condensed syllabus. Though the entire tutorial yr was already shifted to on-line lessons because of covid, no clear directions have been conveyed by the boards at the moment,” Nida says. Regardless of a last-minute announcement, no SOPs and particulars in regards to the examination schedule and syllabus have been shared. It was the yr after the exams have been cancelled, and her daughter was showing for her boards for the primary time.

Their struggling didn’t finish there. Examination centres weren’t geared up to cater to college students’ wants—no lights and fan, no cellular community to contact their households after the examination was over. “Because of covid and strict SOPs, college students have been purported to put on masks on a regular basis, and within the month of June with no gentle and fan, many college students fainted because of suffocation and dehydration throughout the examination,” Rameen’s mom shared with me. The mom of three additionally remembers that there have been some countrywide protests throughout her daughter’s final yr exams. Accompanied by her husband, she was standing exterior the centre to choose up their daughter, frightened if they might safely attain house—Imran Khan was holding a sit-in in Islamabad and Faizabad was additionally blocked. Rumours have been rife that Karachi would even be shutting down. Petrol pumps have been closed, and so they didn’t have sufficient petrol to achieve house.

“This yr we’ve got been in limbo for the final two months. Intermediate exams occur yearly, however about two weeks in the past, it was introduced that this yr, second-year exams after which first-year exams can be held,” Imran shared. Now the entire of July shall be consumed in Rameen’s exams, and from August the brand new session will begin. Subsequent yr the second-year exams shall be carried out in Might, whereas college students will solely have eight months to arrange for a yr’s course. The examination schedule is problematic for your complete household. Her two younger sons have summer season holidays, however as a household they can’t plan any trip or out-of-city journey as a result of her daughter’s exams have been delayed by a month.

For the reason that final 4 years, the scenario throughout or round exams is troublesome for a lot of college students, however essentially the most affected ones are those that are of their second yr. In 2020, when the cancellation occurred it was their first time for board exams. In 2021, they needed to seem for exams on a brief discover with condensed syllabus, which was not correctly conveyed and solely had elective topic papers. In 2022, because of political unrest some exams have been disrupted, and lots of college students confronted issues in reaching their examination centres. In 2023, the Karachi board didn’t cancel exams however as a result of law-and-order scenario many college students confronted difficulties in reaching the examination centres.

Cancellation of exams is a aid for some however for almost all, it’s a course of that builds strain and impacts their efficiency. “The tempo breaks if any paper is cancelled; a pupil could have deliberate for 2 months the methods to check, revise and apply, however all of that will get tousled when a paper is cancelled,” shared Kashaf Shakeel who’s about to look in her class twelve exams. She additionally advised me that cancellation a day earlier than the examination adjustments nothing however solely will increase frustration as a result of one has already studied the entire yr, or not less than a month earlier than the examination. This will solely profit those who simply don’t need to research, however college students who’re working actually exhausting to get into good fields and universities undergo essentially the most.

The younger pre-medical pupil mentioned that the nation’s schooling system is not only in shambles however can be making the younger lot hate it due to the fixed fear of exams—whether or not they are going to be held on time or not. Folks in control of the system simply difficulty a letter.