Board of Intermediate Education Karachi Chairman Ameer Qadri was removed from his position on Friday following students’ concerns over the Part-I results.

The responsibilities of the chairmanship have been transferred to the chairman of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi.

Sharaf Ali Shah has taken over the interim charge. Moreover, Qadri has been asked to provide clarification regarding his “unauthorised trip abroad.”

This came after several students expressed their concerns over the results and demanded scrutiny of the answer sheets.

As many as 74,716 students – including 30,528 in pre-medical group, 22,973 in pre-engineering, 17,375 in general, 2,080 in arts private, 1,570 in commerce private, and 190 in home economics – appeared in the annual exams in December 2024.

At least 10,914 students from the pre-medical group, 6,674 from the pre-engineering group, 6,282 from the science general group, 552 from the arts private group, 490 in the commerce private group, and 75 in the home economics cleared all courses.

Concerned students were of the view that the results were not true and demanded re-checking.

‘Results are based on merit’

“The results of intermediate Part-I, first year, are based on merit and we are saying this with complete responsibility,” the BIEK chairman said in a statement earlier in the day. He expressed his readiness to address the concerns of students over the results.

Qadri claimed that a complete overhaul of the result system was conducted after the complaints. “Under this, answer sheets and assessment were conducted on merit and as per law.”

The BIEK chairman had advised the dissatisfied students to submit their scrutiny forms so that they and their families are satisfied.

Experts voiced their concerns regarding the intermediate results, stating that the high failure rate among students raises questions about educational standards. They noted that poor academic performance has limited opportunities for higher education.

They highlighted that many students have been deprived of admission to reputable universities, as several institutions in the city have been granting admissions based on intermediate Part-I results since the pandemic.

According to the experts, admission to NED university required students to achieve at least 60% marks in their first year and the subpar results have jeopardised students’ academic futures.

Moreover, it was reported that 19,000 students failed in the pre-medical exam while over 6,000 out of 22,000 students succeeded in pre-engineering.

PTI leader Rizwan Khanzada labelled the results as “controversial” and called for a judicial commission, saying that “any conspiracy to jeopardize” the future of Karachi’s children would not be tolerated.

He criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, accusing them of politicising children’s futures and destroying the educational system in Karachi through their political maneuvers.