Karachi Matric Science results delayed for grade verification

KARACHI: The Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) has put off the announcement of SSC Part-II Matric Science results by two days after launching a fresh scrutiny of an unusually large number of top grades.

Acting BSEK Chairman Masharraf Rajput said that about 86,000 candidates had obtained A-1 and A grades out of nearly 175,000 students who sat the examinations. He said the compiled results were being checked again before release because the number of high achievers was far above last year’s count.

The review is being carried out by experienced and reputable teachers rather than the board’s regular staff. The process involves matching the tabulated results with manual award sheets and, where required, checking them against the original answer scripts of students who were awarded A-1 and A grades.

The sharp rise in top grades has also fuelled speculation that cheating during the examinations may have played a role. During the exam period, several centres were shifted more than once, while complaints about large-scale use of unfair means were widely reported. The government had ordered an inquiry into the conduct of the examinations, but the then chairman of the Matric Board resigned before the inquiry report was made public.