00:00 The political instability in Pakistan is a big issue for our students.
00:05 If we look at the political turmoil, protests, long marches, and other political developments,
00:14 if there are exams in those days, they are either cancelled or put back.
00:19 Students are worried about the results.
00:22 If we show you the news clipping from 9th May 2023,
00:27 the political instability in the country was such that the Cambridge exams were cancelled.
00:37 All the students were very worried.
00:40 They didn't know what their future would be like.
00:43 They were told that the average marks would be done.
00:45 And after the average marks, when the results came out,
00:48 many students were disappointed and worried.
00:51 Their grades have fallen.
00:53 They were told that since they pay a lot of fees,
00:57 and the entire year's tuition is on these exams,
00:59 and the college entrance is ahead of that,
01:01 they should reconsider their position in Cambridge.
01:04 But this was not the first time.
01:05 On 25th May 2022, we saw that even then,
01:08 there was a movement in the country,
01:10 and even then, the exams were cancelled.
01:12 Students were worried about the results.
01:15 The exams were of OI levels, which were cancelled in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
01:20 Apart from this, there was a TLP protest in this country.
01:23 Even then, the students were very worried.
01:26 Their exams were cancelled.
01:28 And as a result, we saw that there was another political unrest.
01:31 So we keep playing with the future of our students.
01:35 Whatever politics is, it should definitely happen.
01:37 Political movements should happen.
01:39 Street agitation should happen.
01:41 But who will claim that the students are suffering?
01:44 What is the problem?
01:45 We will ask Mr. Taimur Bande, who is an expert in education.
01:48 Mr. Bande, I have told you the history of Pakistan.
01:51 The problem of Cambridge, FSA and FA students is also there.
01:58 This is because the result was highlighted.
02:00 But the problem overall is of our students,
02:03 who are giving their exams at a very defining moment.
02:05 Where the decision of their career and the trajectory of their life is to be taken.
02:09 What is this particular problem?
02:11 When the exams were cancelled, what happened after that?
02:14 And why are the students worried today?
02:15 Please explain to us.
02:17 Unfortunately, this problem is not only of those students
02:21 whose exams were cancelled between 9th to 11th May.
02:25 This problem is of overall grading.
02:27 Overall exams were held in May and June.
02:30 O Level, A Level and A S Level.
02:33 O Level results will be available on 16th August.
02:36 These students have complained a lot
02:38 that their marking and grading has been very bad.
02:41 Of course, the 9th May crisis has also come in between these exams.
02:46 In which exams were to be averaged out.
02:48 But when the grading of the subjects on which they had given the exam was not correct,
02:53 the students have complained a lot that their overall grades have been bad.
02:58 The background to this is that Cambridge decided to take its marking standards
03:02 back to pre-COVID days, i.e. in 2019.
03:07 And according to this decision, their grading was very strict.
03:11 It should have been that they would have come face to face
03:15 and slowly take the results to that side.
03:18 They suddenly made this decision.
03:19 And this is not only the decision of Pakistan, but the decision of the entire region.
03:22 As a result, a very strong kind of marking has been done
03:25 and a lot of results have been disturbed.
03:27 The history you were giving is a very interesting history.
03:30 I would like to add two things to this.
03:32 First, remember that these students pay the fees of the schools
03:36 where they are going, O Level and A Level.
03:39 Apart from this, they do very expensive registrations in the British Council.
03:43 They have to pay the fees of Cambridge.
03:45 You know what the situation is in Pakistan with pounds.
03:48 After this, these students go for tuitions.
03:50 I am not counting the resources that are their pick and drop,
03:53 which are other services that parents provide to them.
03:55 And if this happens to them after that, then I think it is a great injustice.
04:00 And in this, more than 45,000 students have taken the exam from Pakistan.
04:05 It is one of the biggest markets.
04:06 So I don't understand why there was not much horror and concern in this.
04:10 Why are children protesting on the streets and not raising their voices for their rights?
04:15 So what is the demand? What do the students want precisely?
04:18 The demand is that our grading has not been correct.
04:21 Where our A should have come, there is an EU coming.
04:24 That is, A to B, B to C is understood.
04:26 A to E or A to U is not understood.
04:28 So they are asking for revised grades.
04:30 They are saying that they should be revisited and not put in the exams again.
04:35 Because it is happening that the children of A2 had to start university.
04:39 Many children have their admissions cancelled.
04:42 Many children will spend a year at home to improve their grades.
04:46 And the current economic situation,
04:48 parents cannot put pressure on them to recheck,
04:51 to pay the money and to pay for the exam again.
04:54 So there is a lot of mess, a lot of mental stress in the homes because of these results.
04:59 Sir, you said this is the demand of students,
05:01 but obviously we have an interim government at the moment.
05:03 Our minister is in a caretaker setup.
05:07 This is a big political issue in Pakistan.
05:11 Right now, there is no education minister.
05:14 So how will this happen in the future?
05:16 What is the way forward?
05:17 I think for the way forward, schools will have to play their role.
05:21 And the very important role of schools is that
05:23 their network is a platform.
05:25 They should talk to the British Council or directly to the British High Commission.
05:28 And try to put stress on the revised grades formula.
05:33 This was the pressure of schools that the Cambridge exam was allowed.
05:37 The re-examination, the 9th May exams were cancelled.
05:40 So I think that schools can play a very important role in settling this matter.
05:45 But we should focus on the revised grades.
05:48 But is this a one-time problem?
05:51 Or can this be a recurring problem in the future?
05:55 Should this procedure or process be corrected once?
05:59 Or is this a fluke?
06:03 Please explain this pattern to me.
06:05 Last time, we had a very important discussion on this in your program.
06:09 And we got a very good feedback.
06:10 Unfortunately, we live in a country where anything can happen at any time.
06:14 So these children have paid a very heavy price for this.
06:17 And I am not just talking about 9th May.
06:19 You talked about the children of intermediate and mid-range.
06:21 Ask the students of MDCAT what problems they are facing.
06:25 So this is an ongoing problem.
06:28 The solution is that instead of keeping the entire material for the final exam,
06:33 we should create a structure of internal assessments.
06:36 Like the one in the IB International Baccalaureate system.
06:38 We should give weightage to those internal assessments.
06:41 So that the entire focus should be on the final exam.
06:43 If you do not pass it, you will not be able to move forward.
06:46 According to that, we will have to do thinking out of the box.
06:49 Thank you very much, Mr. Taimur Bande.
06:52 The students are facing a problem because after their grading,
06:56 the entrance into the universities and the prospects ahead of them are affected.
07:04 We spoke to Mr. Shahrukh Mirza.
07:08 What is his opinion on this issue?
07:11 British Council is already in contact with Cambridge.
07:14 The information on the next steps for students, we have sent to the schools.
07:21 They should stay in contact with their schools.
07:24 All the information is there, the details are there, how these grades are calculated.
07:30 If they have any issue, then they can do the inquiry about the results.
07:36 One thing is very important, first understand the students, how these results are calculated.
07:41 Of course, if there is any issue, then they can take up with their school and do the inquiry about the results.
07:47 So British High, British school system, the way you have done it, have you heard it?
