The Punjab Education Board has announced that the upcoming SSC (matric) exams will be held as per schedule.
Earlier, All Pakistan Private Schools Association (APPSA), in a letter to the Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab and the Secretary of Higher Education requested to delay the exams by at least a month.
In his letter, APPSA Central President, Mian Shabir Ahmad Hashmi, had highlighted the negative effects of smog and extended winter holidays on students. Furthermore, he also mentioned the loss of crucial study time for students due to the prolonged winter break.
However, the provincial education board has made it clear that the exams will not be delayed, adding that there won’t be any changes to the exam schedule.
It should be noted that the SSC examinations are scheduled to commence on March 1. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore has also released a tentative date sheet.
According to the concerned officials, any kind of delay in matric examinations could affect the schedules of higher-level exams.
On the other hand, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government recently delayed the annual SSC (9th and 10th grade) exam, originally scheduled to start on March 14, by more than a month.
The decision was taken upon the requests of parents and students, who expressed their concerns about the exams coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.