Karachi
Boasting of this year’s position holders’ humble backgrounds, an official of the BIEK waved away with all allegations of the board selling positions to influential people.
The first position holder was said to be a daughter of a paan-stall owner, while another position holder's father was reported to polish furniture to earn a living for the family, while a third was an orphan, the official informed.
According to him, if the BIEK was selling positions then these students would not have been able to bag positions.
He claimed that last year the student who secured first position was awarded Rs50,000, Rs30,000 were given to the student who secured the second position, while the student who got the third position got Rs20,000; however, this year the award money was doubled for the first position; while the students who secured the second and third positions were awarded Rs50,000 and Rs30,000 respectively.
Student of PECHS Government College for Women, Asia Khalid, daughter of Khalid Mehmood, - roll number 212261 - clinched the first position. She bagged 992 marks out of a total of 1100.
Asia said she used to go to college only to attend lab tutorials and to appear in practical exams but had enrolled at a tuition centre nearby her residence in Federal B Area, where her father ran a pan-shop.
Not wanting to waste even a day, the position holder said she the college’s session started late which was why she enrolled at the tuition centre. She suggested the government to launch education support fund for deserving students in order to help them in continuing their education.
Also a student of PECHS Government College for Women, Hiba Khalid, daughter of Khaid Aziz, - roll number 212384 – was one of the two students to have secured the second position. Marva Tanvir, daughter of Muhammad Tanvir, - bearing roll number 212465 – was the other student to have secured the second position. The students secured 991 marks.
Student of St Lawrence Government Degree College, Rimsha, daughter of Muhammad Imran, – bearing roll number 214638 – secured 990 marks. The student was, however, expecting a better result.
Home Economics
Noorul Ain Anwer, daughter of Anwer Iqbal, - roll number 135642 - from Ra'ana LIaquat Ali Khan Government College of Home Economics clinched the first position by securing 1020 marks out of a total of 1,200.
She said that there existed a wrong perception about the Home Economics because it was widely believed to be related to house wife affairs only; she said the field instead taught a student each and every thing about different aspects of life. She suggested that the government should introduce this subject in every college.
Hiba Masood, daughter of Masood Anwer, and Aymin Nadeem, daughter of Nadeem Iqbal, secured second positions.
Wanting to be an engineer, Hiba said she chose Home Economics because of her mother’s interest in the subject, and was now interested in becoming a nutritionist.
Aymin also said she was interested in becoming a nutritionist.
The third position holder, Fatima Ikram Zuberi, daughter of Ikram Ahsan Zubairi, - roll number 135562 - got 982 marks out of a total of 1,200.
Results
The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK), on Monday, announced results of Higher Secondary School Certificate Part-II, annual examinations, 2016 of Pre-Medical, Home Economics and Medical Technology groups.
According to the gazette, 21, 389 candidates registered for the examinations of which 21,106 students appeared and 11,139 candidates cleared all papers. The overall pass percentage stood at 52.78 percent.
As per the result, 1,349 students clinched A-1 grade; 3,089 candidates bagged an A-grade; 3,290 students received a B-grade; 2,500 candidates got a C-grade; 858 students passed their exams with a D-grade while 53 candidates managed to secure an E-grade.
A total of 4,268 male students got themselves registered, of which 4,166 appeared and 1,776 cleared the papers. The pass percentage for boys stood at 42.63 percent. As many as 159 candidates received an A-1 grade; 387 got an A-grade; 445 students cleared the papers with a B-grade; 437 students managed to get a C-grade; 301 candidates secured a D-grade while 47 students obtained an E-grade.
On the other hand, 17,121 female students registered for the examination and 16,940 out of them appeared for the papers. The number of those who cleared the papers was 9,363; the pass percentage stood at 55.27 percent. Of the total female students who cleared the papers 1,190 clinched an A-1 grade; 2,702 secured an A-grade; 2,845 cleared the papers with a B-grade; 2,063 candidates got a C-grade while 557 students managed to secure a D-grade; six candidates were said to have received an E-grade.
Home Economics
As per the gazette, 334 candidates had registered for the examinations, out of which 328 students appeared and 152 candidates cleared all papers. The overall pass percentage stood at 46.34 percent. Only four students bagged an A-1 grade; 25 candidates got an A-grade; 59 students obtained a B-grade; 47 students managed to clear papers with a C-grade, while 17 students got a D-grade.
Medical Technology
Only three candidates registered and all of them cleared the annual examinations. The overall pass percentage stood at 100 percent. Among the three students, two got a B-grade while the third got a C.
Colleges’ result
According to BIEK’s gazette, 79 public and private colleges delivered a result of less than 20 percent, while around 30 percent affiliated colleges produced a result of less than 30 percent and above or equal to 20 percent.
The gazette further maintained that 35 colleges had a result of less than 50 percent and above or equal to 30 percent, whereas 92 educational institutions produced a 50 percent or above result.
The BIEK Controller of Examinations Muhammad Imran Khan Chishti stated that 57 cases of cheating were reported during the examinations as well as trying to temper results after examinations.
DG NAB attends ceremony
Presiding over the ceremony held in honour of students who bagged positions, National Accountability Bureau Director General Colonel (retd) Siraj Naeem observed that Punjab had a better educational environment and facilities as compared to Sindh.
He said the provincial government has been providing free education as well as laptops besides other facilities to facilitate students. However, he added that no such facilities were made available for the students of Sindh so far.
The Board awarded cheques, gold medals, books and certificates to candidates who secured top positions in Science (pre-medical), and Home Economics’ annual examinations.
He stressed that international standards should be kept in mind while making educational policies for masses. "We need to bring out education system at par with leading countries."
He observed that residents of Karachi were seen to have a higher level of intellect as compared to other parts of the country, but the situation had changed of late. Col Naeem advised to not differentiate between rural and urban areas while promoting education.
"The use of unfair means in education sector is totally unethical and against the norms," the DG NAB further added.
BIEK Chairman Mohammad Akhtar Ghori while addressing the ceremony claimed that the controller of examinations and his team had produced an error-free result on a very short notice, which needed to be appreciated.
In what was an apparent reference to the countless raids on BIEK’s office by NAB as well as the anti-corruption establishment (ACE), Ghori observed that the board experienced some difficult times in recent past but did not compromise on results. He said the top positions were all clinched by the most deserving and talented students.
"Soon after taking charge of the BIEK, I made changes according to modern needs and this is a continuous process. The board hopes that the federal government will hopefully help the BIEK in its plan for installing an automated system at the board’s office."
He announced that BIEK would award the Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan Gold Medal for the first time, whereas the previously awarded cash prize had also been increased to appreciate the students’ tireless efforts. The BIEK chairman also acknowledged Sindh Governor’s support to the provincial education department, particularly in Karachi.
Later, the BIEK Controller of Examinations Muhammad Imran Khan Chishti stated that the board would soon cancel affiliation of private colleges which have been producing poor results for the last three years.
He further claimed that the BIEK had taken note of some private and government-run colleges producing less than 10 percent passing results continuously. According to him, the board would give the institutes 90 days time, and after issuing letters would cancel their affiliations with the board; letters would also be sent to the provincial education department to take action against the colleges.
Chishti while responding to a question said the BIEK was not responsible for issues such as short of attendance since they did not fall under the board’s jurisdiction. However, he mentioned that letters would be sent to the concerned authority.
The issue came into light when position holders of Pre-medical group confessed not attending classes and only visiting the college for attending lab tutorials.