Karachi, An inquiry committee constituted by Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has found the entire examination department of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) Karachi responsible for manipulation in the results of the SSC Part-II 2023 examination. The committee has recommended a further probe into their malafide intentions through the Anti-corruption Establishment, following complaints of manipulation in the examination results.
According to Chief Minister Sindh, the inquiry was initiated after complaints surfaced regarding the manipulation of results by the BSE Karachi. A three-member committee, comprising Secretary School Education Dr. Shereen Mustafa (Chairperson), Additional Secretary U and B Ms. Afshan Rubab, and Zubair Katbar Section Officer of U and B dept, was tasked to investigate the allegations. The committee submitted its report and recommendations to the Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister on February 21, which were approved and have since been forwarded to the chairman of the board for implementation.
The inquiry identified several issues within the examination department, including the introduction of new result software by M/s Basecamp IT Solution in 2023 that led to significant discrepancies in the calculation of total marks and grade grace. Additionally, the adoption of the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) system without providing adequate training to the teachers involved in assessing the answer sheets resulted in numerous errors.
The report highlighted a lack of seriousness among the board’s employees, as evidenced by their written statements during the inquiry. It also pointed out the board administration’s negligence in ignoring the IT wing/computer wing, which became a critical point of failure in managing and manipulating the examination process.
The committee’s findings underscored the board’s failure to properly execute and maintain records for both old and new students/schemes, resulting in a non-user-friendly gazette and difficulties for students attempting to obtain consolidated mark sheets.
Responsibility for these glaring mistakes was placed on the entire Examination team, including the Controller, Deputy Controller, Assistant Controller, and IT team. The committee recommended departmental action against all delinquent officers and criticized the lack of cooperation from board officials, including the Chairman, in providing necessary documents and information during the inquiry.
The report concluded that the board’s Chairman failed to introduce necessary reforms, leading to a compromised performance of the board in managing examination processes efficiently. The Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh has approved the inquiry committee’s recommendations, marking a significant step towards addressing the manipulation of examination results within the BSE Karachi.