Govt cancels all exams until June 15

In lieu of rising cases of COVID-19 Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood on Tuesday announced that no examinations will take place in the country until June 15.

“O’ and A’ Level exams have been cancelled and will now take place in the October-November cycle,” said the minister in an announcement.

“Exams of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 which were supposed to begin from the end of May have been delayed further,” added the minister. “No board exams will be held till mid-June (June 15).”

He also added that another meeting of the NCOC will decide in the third week of May to decide whether these exams will be postponed further or not.

Addressing health concerns of students and parents All exams cancelled till June 15 and depending on the spread of the disease may even go further. Cambridge exams postponed till Oct/Nov for all grades. Only exception for those in A2 who have a compulsion to take exam now

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) April 27, 2021

University admissions in Pakistan will be aligned for class 12 and A2 who will be taking exams in Oct/Nov. This is to ensure no one loses a year. For A2 who have some compulsion to take exams now, every attempt will be made to provide safe venues. Not more than 50 students

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) April 27, 2021

The minister also took time to answer the questions of students :

I have asked Cambridge to finish the 13 month limit https://t.co/7QTtcmiAf0

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) April 27, 2021

They will take place as scheduled for those students who have to take them for one reason or another. The rest of A2 can take exams in Oct/Nov and we will adjust Pakistani universities admission accordingly https://t.co/tbLn1l4EiD

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) April 27, 2021

When we say all exams, no exam will take place upto June 15 https://t.co/o5t2KwxQlz

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) April 27, 2021

#ImranKhanCancelExams and #ImranKhanJawabDou were among the top trends on Twitter from the past few days as National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and the Government of Pakistan refused to cancel this year’s O’ and A’ Level exams and went on to take the exams as scheduled.

Pakistan is currently experiencing a deadly third wave of COVID-19 with fears of an India-like situation and students argued that the exams not only pose a risk to their health but they have also been unable to prepare for them because of school closures. The high courts in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Karachi also dismissed students petitions.