More than 200 students that appeared for the practical exams of class 10 on Wednesday claimed that they were not provided with the stipulated time of 90 minutes. The practical exams were being conducted by the NIOS and this was the case at one of the many exam centers in the city.
As per the schedule mentioned, the paper for the subject Data Entry was scheduled from 2 pm to 3:30 pm at a center. The center was located next to Anglo Urdu Boys School and Junior College on Azam Campus.
Many parents claimed that the students reported at the center at 1:45 pm but were only allowed to enter the exam hall at 2:30 pm instead of 2 pm.
“The students were not informed of any change in timings and were given old computers to work on, which also hampered their performance,” said a tutor, who did not wish to be named.
But the major blow for the students came when the invigilators started collecting the answer sheets at 4 pm which deducted crucial 30 minutes from the allotted time frame for the exam.
“This meant that many students could not complete the 60-mark examination and they are now at loss,” the tutor added.
When officials at the Azam campus were contacted regarding the same issue Muzzamil Palekar, coordinator of NIOS on Azam campus said “The actual time of the exam was between 2 pm and 3.30 pm. But, we had another exam scheduled at the same center, prior to this one. That is why, we could not keep up with the time and had to delay in starting the latter examination. Out of 40 students, only one complained of falling short of time”.
He further added “How much time will you require to answer four questions? We informed the students at the start of the exam, that the duration would be one hour instead of 90 minutes.”
The principal has asked the affected students to place their grievances before the principal on Thursday.