Govt decides to cancel all exams till June 15 amid spike in COVID infections, says Shafqat

(Karachi) The government has decided to cancel all examinations, including O/A level exams till June 15 in wake of the increasing number of COVID-19 infections across the country.

Addressing a press briefing in Islamabad after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting on Tuesay, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said that all and A level examinations have been cancelled amid drastic rise in coronavirus cases in the country.

He added that all the students will give the exams in October and November.

Similarly, he maintained the government also decided that exams for classes 9 to 12 will not be held till June 2021. He stated that the government will review the situation in third week of May and take decisions accordingly.

Earlier, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said that COVID-19 compliance outside the examination centres was poor whereas permission to conduct exams was conditional on strict SOP observance.

A day before on April 26, the minister said that students who choose to defer their upcoming Cambridge examination of May/June - due to the rise in pandemic - could switch to October/November cycle with the same fee paid earlier.

The minister also posted a supporting document provided by Cambridge Assessment International Education to answer different scenarios that facilities the students.

According to the document, in some syllabuses, candidates could take the component in a way that is easier to manage. For example, AS & A Level, Art & Design candidates can produce one piece of course work instead of three.

It added that schools could apply for exemptions where they feel candidates were not able to complete the syllabus due to any reason

Candidates could choose not to take a component but can still receive an overall syllabus grade, the document stated.