The e-marking project will not be started at matric and inter level in Sindh

Karachi: The Sindh Department of School Education’s plan to implement the “e-marking and MR” system at the matriculation and intermediate levels in the government education boards of the province has once again been stalled, resulting in the commencement of the examination in a few days. The system will not be introduced in the annual examinations.

The machinery worth lakhs of rupees for this system of the Department of School Education Sindh has been handed over to various educational boards of Sindh including Karachi several months ago, but this machinery is packed in a box but the staff has been trained to use it. Neither the teachers have been trained for paper moderation, paper setting.

Matric exams in the province have started on May 7 and Inter will start on May 28. It is being told that the relevant machinery has been provided to the Education Board by the Department of School Education in such a small number that it cannot be functional. After that e-marking will be done only for the results of a few hundred students.

In this regard, it was mentioned that Inter Board Karachi has been provided only one “server” so far, similarly, Matric Board Karachi has been given two or three scanners and printers, a server and a few cameras, while the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Boards have been provided. Hyderabad has also been given a very small number of machinery.

It should be noted that Matriculation Board Karachi prepares the results of 9th and 10th of more than 3.5 lakh students every year in annual examinations, more than 1 lakh students give matriculation and inter examination under Hyderabad Board, about 1.5 lakh All students take the exam under the Intermediate Board Karachi.

When contacted by “Express”, Arif Jalbani, Acting IT Manager of Higher Secondary Education Board, Karachi, said, “They have received a few machines, maybe they will get some more, but they said how much hardware has been received, at that time they did not remember.” no”.

An officer of the Inter Board said that “this time the board will not give MCQs on OMR sheet but MCQs are going to be hidden on plain paper because the board does not have any OMR checking or e-marking. There is no manual and no training has been given to the teachers and employees associated with us in this regard.

He said that MCQs were given on OMR sheet for at least two years but it was checked manually in the traditional way.

It should be noted that during the caretaker government in Sindh, for the 2024 matriculation and inter annual examinations, the provision of the said machinery was started in relation to e-marking to the official education board of the province, but this provision remained incomplete.

The boards that take the examination of lakhs of students could not be given the required number of machinery, the machinery given was not given any training regarding its use and the equipment has become an adornment of the IT or store rooms of the boards, while the school education department in this regard It was reportedly launched with the support of the Asian Development Bank.

A separate office has been formally established in Clifton Karachi for this project and named as “Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project” and the planners of this project will be trained as paper setters, paper moderators and teachers at matric and intermediate level. Technical training was to be provided to Saath and KIT staff but the project got delayed.

Now it is being told that from May 6, the training of many teachers, paper moderators, setters associated with the education board is being started in Karachi, which will not be applicable for the exams that will start in a few days of this year.

In the meeting held about a week and a half ago in the presence of the Sindh Education Minister and the Minister of Universities and Boards to review the preparations for the annual examinations in Sindh, there was an echo of starting e-marking in Sindh, but the relevant ministers were not told this. Currently, no preparations have been made in this regard.

Meanwhile, the chairman of a board in Sindh said that “the machinery that has been given to us is equivalent to cumin in the camel’s mouth. There are more than 100,000 students in matric and inter. What will we do with a few scanners?”

In this regard, “Express” also contacted the head of the Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project, Rizwan Soomro, and tried to find out the reason for the delay in the project, on which he stated that “OMR and e-marking will start in 2025.” It is scheduled and not delayed, equipment has been delivered and training is being given.

He was asked whether he could share any document in this regard, on which he could not share any document, however, he said that the ADP website should be viewed, he was asked to provide hardware to the boards. Why is it going slowly and in very small numbers to which they did not receive an answer.