Sindh Announces Huge Relief for Cambridge Students

The Sindh Education Department has declared illegal the practice by certain private schools affiliated with the Cambridge examination system of canceling student enrollments or forcing students to appear in exams as private candidates.

In a circular issued by the Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions Sindh, Additional Registrar Prof. Rafia Mallah said the department had received multiple complaints against private schools affiliated with Cambridge International examinations through the British Council Pakistan.

According to the complaints, some schools prevent students from appearing in examinations as regular candidates, often citing reasons such as failure to meet attendance requirements or poor performance in internal assessments.

The circular stated that despite invoking internal policies to justify these actions, schools continue to charge students full academic fees throughout the year. Later, the schools compel students to register as private candidates without sufficient justification, a practice the department said causes serious academic and psychological harm.

The education department clarified that under the Sindh Private Educational Institutions Regulation and Control Rules, 2005, private schools cannot formulate or enforce admission or continuation policies without prior approval from the directorate. Any policy introduced without approval is illegal and has no legal standing.

The circular further stated that responsibility for weak academic performance lies with school administrations and teaching staff, not students. It added that schools must provide proper instruction, academic monitoring, and remedial support rather than penalizing students.

The directorate has instructed all concerned schools to immediately stop the practice and warned that violations will result in action under relevant laws.