Decision Day: Sindh High Court hosted oral arguments today, as the decision to take face-face CIE exams was argued after plenty of online and physical protest efforts by students across the country. The students argued that all countries across Saudi Arabia to India have cancelled face to face CIE exams in respect to the dangerous third wave of COVID-19 and Pakistan was the only country still going through with initial plans for physical exams.
Hon SHC heard arguments for 2.5hrs after which Court adjourned till tomorrow 10pm to complete arguments. #Cambridge is basing its case solely on deadline of 17thApril passing for Pakistan whereas with India Cambridge was flexible moving deadline to 19. @Francis_Joseph pls confirm
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) April 22, 2021
What Happened: The honorable Sindh High Court heard arguments from both sides for around 3 hours, however the court was adjourned till tomorrow 10 AM for argument completion. Jibran Nasir stated that the basis of Cambridge’s argument was that the deadline for the Teacher Assisted Grades (TAGs) was 17th April for Pakistan, and cannot be changed. However, Jibran Nasir, who has been leading the case said that the deadline was changed to the 19th for India, so it should be made flexible for Pakistan as well. Indian journalist Francis Joseph confirmed this.
Student Reactions: Students all over the country waited anxiously through the night for the decision, tweeting throughout the scenario making #CancelExamsSaveStudents one of the top trends. However, to their dismay the decision was delayed further. What makes matters worse is that the first exam is scheduled for 26th of April, Monday. The uncertainty of the situation has put students in a spot where they can neither relax, nor focus on preparation as no confirmation is made. As quoted by a Twitter user, ‘ the decision of exams being cancelled or not isn’t as important as the announcement of the decision’.
sick and tired of the mismanagement shown by our government. at this point, the decision of exams being cancelled or not isnt as important as the announcement of the decision. the first a level exam is scheduled for monday. how is this uncertainty fair for students? https://t.co/l5dFjsSZ4D
— mahad (@torphor) April 22, 2021