Exams of matric, intermediate to start from July 12 in KP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Shahram Khan Tarakai said Wednesday the examinations of classes matric and inter will start from July 12 in the province.

The minister said the province had decided after the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) was held today, with the Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood in the chair.

The minister said the exams of classes 9 and 11 will begin in the second phase, after exams of classes matric and inter conclude.

The same decision taken in the IPEMC would apply to the province, as the students of matric and ninth would be assessed on the basis of elective subjects and math this year, while students of classes 11 and 12 would only appear in the exams of elective subjects.

Practical examinations will not be conducted this year, and the marks will be covered in the elective subjects' exam, the education minister said.

"From tomorrow onward, the classes of 9 and 10 will start so that they start preparing for their exams," he added.

Shafqat Mehmood announces decisions  taken during IPMEC

Earlier in the day, Mehmood had announced students of matric and ninth across the country would be assessed on the basis of elective subjects and math this year.

The minister, explaining the decision during a press conference in Islamabad, said only four exams, including math for ninth and matric, will be conducted. These include biology, computer science, physics, and chemistry.

No student would be awarded grades without attempting examinations this year, the education minister stressed, adding: "If we do not conduct the exams, then students will not even employ minimum efforts to study."

According to the education ministry, Mehmood's press conference came after he chaired a meeting of the provincial education ministers and officials from the education departments.

Classes 11 and 12 will be assessed on only elective subjects, said Mehmood. "This decision will make the examination process easier for students."

The minister said the exams of elective subjects will be conducted as students aspiring to opt for a selected field could be assessed on the basis of their elective subjects.

The education minister said boards were preparing to conduct exams from June 24, and now, to facilitate students, we have asked them to begin examinations after July 10.

"We have also asked boards to keep some gap between the exams," he said, as he explained the government had taken several steps to ease the process on the students as the educational institutions could not complete the course work.

The education minister said exams of classes 10 and 12 would be conducted first — from July 10 — and the examinations of classes 9 and 11 will be conducted once they end.