KARACHI, March 9: Over 320,000 candidates (both male and female) will appear in the Secondary School Certificate (Class IX and X) Science and General groups annual examinations-2010, beginning on March 24 under the aegis of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK).

According to the schedule of the examinations, Class IX and X General group papers for both the regular and private candidates would be held in the morning shift (from 9am to 12 noon) while Class IX and X Science group papers would be held in the afternoon shift (from 2pm to 5pm).

BSEK officials said that over 450 examination centres were being set up at schools to conduct examinations while vigilance teams to monitor examinations and check the use of unfair means would be formed in due course of time.

Meanwhile, the BSEK authorities are reportedly in a fix in the wake of a Sindh education department steering committee’s decision under which it has been made mandatory for the board to select only government schools for setting up of examination centres to avoid last year’s situation when rampant use of unfair means and cheating in exams was reported at the centres set up at private schools.

Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq has asked BSEK officials to ensure that the steering committee’s decision concerning the examination is implemented.