Exam centre for Narang students set up at Shahdara

LAHORE

Ignoring the plight of the students because of the hot weather and poor transport facilities, the Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE) has set up examination centre of Narang Mandi,  Sheikhupura  district, students in Shahdara, Lahore district, for DCom Annual Examination 2016 starting from May 19.

The move has created unrest among the candidates who have been holding protest demonstrations on regular basis in Narang Mandi. However, their efforts failed to attract attention of the PBTE authorities so the students have now appealed to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to look into the matter and provide relief to them.

The students claimed that the PBTE used to set up exam centre at Narang Mandi for such exams in the past but now the board had relocated the centre at Shahdra which was unfair and unjust. They said the PBTE authorities ignored their plight which was unfortunate, adding that the board failed to realise exams were conducted in a comfortable environment and their families having no worries vis-à-vis long distances to travel for exams.   

However, when contacted, PBTE Controller of Examinations Muhammad Arshad had a different point of view. He said, according to the rules the PBTE was bound to set up an exam centre where there were over 200 candidates. 

He said in case of Narang Mandi there were around 60 students, around 20 for Part-I and the rest for Part-II, owing to which the centre could not be set up there.

He said the PBTE had to manage expenditure through its own resources and it was not feasible for the board to set up a separate centre in such cases.  He also said it was not true that exam centre had always been set up at Narang Mandi.