Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Tuesday announced that as per the suggestion of the National Command and Operation Centre, all board exams have been postponed till June 15 given the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.
The minister and the SAPM were holding a press conference related to Cambridge exam centres as well as the overall situation of infections in the country after attending a special session of the NCOC.
During the press conference, Mehmood said that from April 18 (when the last meeting of the education ministry was held) until now, the number of coronavirus cases has rapidly risen, therefore, the government has decided to postpone all exams until June 15.
He said the country seems to be headed towards a complete lockdown in areas witnessing particularly high positivity ratios.
“Exams of 9, 10, 11 and 12, which were supposed to begin from the end of May, have been delayed further,” the minister said. “No board exams will be held till mid-June (June 15).”
Mehmood added that another meeting of the NCOC will decide in the third week of May whether these exams will be postponed further or not.
“So if exams take place after June 15, they may continue in July and even August,” the minister explained.
Cambridge exams
Speaking about Cambridge exams, Mehmood said that O level exams will now be held in the October and November cycle and the same will be the case for A and AS level exams.
“Those students who wish to seek admission in Pakistani universities will be able to do so until January as the government will take the universities on board in this regard,” the minister said.
He, however, said that those students appearing for A2 level exams [around 20,000 students] who wish to apply to foreign universities or cannot defer their exams for any other reason may be able to appear in the Cambridge exams right now.
“In this regard, the government has issued directives that no exam venue will have more than 50 people [to maintain adequate social distancing].”
