Islamabad (Web Desk): Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday said that that board examinations for grade 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th will be held after July 10 across Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after chairing a meeting of provincial education ministers and officials from the education departments, he said that the examination for students of classes 9 and 10 would be held only for elective subjects and mathematics, while exams for students of classes 11 and 12 would be held for elective subjects only.
Shafqat Mahmood stressed that no student would be awarded grades without attempting examinations this year.
“Boards were preparing to conduct exams from June 24, and now, to facilitate students, we have asked them to begin examinations after July 10,” he said.
The minister said that the 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.
Shafqat Mahmood said that the boards have been directed to keep some gap between the exams.
He said that 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 also took to Twitter to announce the decision.
The marks percentage taken by students in elective subjects will also be proportionately allocated to subjects in which exams are not being taken, he added.
“The government wants all the results to be issued by the third week of September so that timely issuance of results will help the students secure admissions in universities,” Shafqat said.
He noted that the government had decided to shut down schools as it had become necessary due to the COVID-19 situation. "We then reduced the syllabus by 40%," the minister added.
Shafqat Mahmood said that educational institutions were allowed to conduct the classes of 10 and 12, and now, the classes of 9 and 11 will also be conducted.
The education minister said that no teacher invigilating the exams can perform their duties without getting the coronavirus vaccine, and that is why the government has begun their inoculation on a priority basis.
It is pertinent to mention that in April, the education ministry had cancelled all exams in the country till June 15.