‘Cambridge exams to go ahead as per schedule’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Sunday evening shared some important updates related to the Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Taking to Twitter, the minister posted a notification — originally shared by the British Council on Facebook — according to which Cambridge International Exams will go ahead as per the schedule.

“Cambridge and the British Council will make sure all SOPs are very strictly followed,” the notification read.

“If students wish, they can switch to Oct/Nov exams instead for the same fee.” According to the notification, the CAIE also confirmed that it will not use school-assessed grades for the June 2021 series.

Last month, CAIE had confirmed that all Cambridge International AS & A Level exams will be held as per the current timetable, starting from 26 April 2021, as agreed with the government of Pakistan.

In this regard, Cambridge International’s Country Director Pakistan Uzma Yousuf had said: “We have been working closely with the federal and provincial governments, who have given us extensive support and advice, to ensure we run exams safely, and securely for our students.”

“If a student is not comfortable taking their exams in the May/June 2021 series they can withdraw their entries, and sit any future exam series without any additional financial burden.” It is pertinent to mention that Cambridge had introduced extensive extra measures in January this year to support schools and students with taking exams in the May/June 2021 series. These included adjustments to aspects of assessments and exemptions from components that are difficult to run during the pandemic.