
Inter exams put off by nine days
The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) annual examinations of XI-XII for the year 2025 have been delayed.
The pre-engineering, pre-medical and science general group exams that were to start on April 28 will now commence from May 6 or later.
Due to delay in the first phase of exams, the second phase, which includes Commerce and Arts, will also begin late. Officials have cited multiple reasons for the delay in exams including, unavailability of exam centres, changes in the previous first-year results due to grace marks, and the absence of a chairman at the board, resulting in lack of exam preparations.
A responsible officer of Universities and Boards Department told The Express Tribune that according to the information received from Board of Secondary Education Karachi indicates that matriculation exams will continue in Karachi until May 2. Many of the current exam centers are being used for matric exams and are also designated for the Intermediate exams. Therefore, after the matric exams conclude, these centers will be converted for Intermediate exams. Another reason for the delay is the change in previous first-year results due to grace marks.
It's worth noting that, according to initial decision of Department of Education's Steering Committee, matric exams in Sindh were supposed to begin on March 15 and Intermediate exams on April 8.
However, as the matric exams approached, some private school associations raised concerns that it would not be feasible for students to appeared in exams during the month of Ramazan.
Consequently, the Steering Committee held another meeting and approved the rescheduling of matric exams to April 8 after Eidul Fitr, with Intermediate exams to start the same day.
Now, with further delays, Intermediate students will once again be taking their exams in extreme heat, as has happened in the past. This delay in results will also impact university admissions and the start of the new academic session.

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