Maryam Nawaz, a senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, has joined the bandwagon calling for the cancellation of Cambridge Examinations (CAIE) in Pakistan.
In her tweet, she asked the government of Pakistan to cancel the Cambridge examination in Pakistan scheduled in April-June 2021. She accused the government of risking the lives of the students of Pakistan.
“GOP putting the students in harm’s way by forcing them to appear for Cambridge exams when all other countries of the region have postponed them is beyond sense. Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. I hope sense prevails and these students are heard,” she said in a tweet on Thursday.
GOP putting the students in harm’s way by forcing them to appear for Cambridge exams when all other countries of the region have postponed them is beyond sense. Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. I hope sense prevails and these students are heard.
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) April 22, 2021
Maryam Nawaz is the latest to join the pressure group calling for the postponement of examinations in Pakistan.
Earlier, a large number of celebrities and politicians have called the government to cancel the exam.
Read more: Examinations to be held on schedule in Pakistan: Shafqat Mehmood
With just a few days left for the examinations to begin, calls have been made under the #ImranKhanCancelExam to delay the examination. However, the examining body and the Ministry of Education and Government of Pakistan are reluctant to cancel the GCE and CIAE in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, students had filed petitions in high courts across Pakistan, urging the justice system of Pakistan to intervene in the matter.
This is the opinion of many students, parents and their teachers. There was little time for preparation and schools and academies suffered because of rampant #COVID19 spread. First, they could not attend much school, secondly, now they will be appearing physically in exam.
— Fereeha M Idrees (@Fereeha) April 22, 2021
Students have cited the fears of contracting coronavirus while physically appearing for examinations. Other sources have cited that students and parents have complained of a lack of time for preparations for examinations.
Meanwhile, in the hearing regarding the cancellation of the examination in Sindh High Court, the counsel of the British Council rejected the possibility of allowing school-assessed grades to O/A Level students.
Read more: Pakistani girl Zara Naeem becomes top scorer in ACCA international exam
Cambridge counsel also submitted documents containing the details of the CAIE examination procedure in the hearing.
#ImranKhanCancelExam @ImranKhanPTI if u are saying this then why aren’t u cancelling CIES EXAMS AND BOARDS EXAMS? If u won’t cancel our papers then u should know that u will be the one who will be responsible for the pandemic disaster in Pakistan! So plz think wisely. pic.twitter.com/hd3W4x7FyH
— shehroz asim (@shehrozasim1) April 23, 2021
Additional Attorney General contended that the decision has been reserved on the case as similar petitions had been filed by the students in Lahore, Peshawar, and Islamabad High Court.
The counsel of the British Council argued last year students had awarded school-assessed grades. “It cannot be repeated this year,” he asserted. “Students being more marks than they deserved had created problems last year,” he added further.
He added that the CAIE was scheduled to begin worldwide on April 17th while the government of Pakistan had approached Cambridge on the matter of physical exam on April 6th, implying that it was too late to implement the school-assessed grades. “The due date has passed,” he stated.
He, however, assured that British Council is in constant contact with the Government of Pakistan to ensure COVID-19 SOPs are strictly followed.