Considering a report submitted by the sub-committee of the Sindh Assembly regarding the controversial outcomes from the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK), the provincial cabinet on Tuesday gave the green light to awarding grace marks to first-year intermediate students in the port city.
Earlier this year in January, the provincial assembly, acceding to the demands of opposition parties, established a parliamentary committee headed by Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah to delve into the disputed results issued by the intermediate board in Karachi.
Last month, the parliamentary panel had resolved to allocate 15% grace marks to intermediate first-year students in both Mathematics and Physics, and 20% in Chemistry, specifically for those who hadn’t managed to pass their exams.
However, during the provincial cabinet meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, a decision was made to grant a 20% across-the-board grace marks to all students in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.
The Chief Minister instructed that reforms be implemented within the BIEK. Furthermore, he directed the chief secretary to investigate alleged irregularities across all education boards in the province and to submit a report detailing these findings.
In a separate matter, the cabinet meeting also resolved to impose a complete prohibition on the sale, manufacturing, and use of all types of plastic bags — including shopping bags and plastic carrier bags — throughout the entire province.
According to a statement released by the chief minister’s media consultant, the provincial government approved an amendment to the Sindh Prohibition of Non-degradable Plastic Products Rules 2024, aimed at enforcing a ban on non-degradable plastic items.
