[Current Affairs] April 28, 2021 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for FPSC Test Preparation

2. All exams cancelled

What’s going on? In what looks like a 180-degree turn, Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mahmood, announced that no exams will take place in Pakistan until June 15. This announcement came a few days after he said the Cambridge O and A level exams will happen for sure. The Cambri­dge Assessment Internatio­nal Education program issues O and A levels. The A levels were scheduled to begin on April 26, and O levels were scheduled for May 4.

The details: During a press conference, Mahmood said the O and A level exams will now take place in October-November, for no extra fee. Exams could be delayed more depending on the COVID-19 situation. Some exams still started on Monday, April 26.

Tell me more: Mahmood said this decision was made to address the health concerns of students and parents. If you’re wondering why the govt didn’t decide to cancel exams earlier, Mahmood said it’s because there was a drastic increase in cases between now and when the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said it would be fine to hold exams.

The context: Initially, when students asked to receive school-assessed grades as an alternative to taking in-person Cambridge exams, the govt and courts said ‘nope.’ Students who filed a petition don’t think it’s fair for them to take in-person exams during a pandemic, especially while COVID-19 cases are increasing. According to the students, they didn’t have physical classes for most of the academic year, and didn’t get a chance to complete the syllabus either. Plus, they believe in-person exams will put their lives and the lives of their family members at risk, since packed exam halls could be a hotbed for the virus.

The bottom line: For the past few months, students, parents and activists have been calling on the govt to cancel in-person Cambridge exams due to rising COVID-19 cases in the country. There’s still no clear explanation for why the govt won’t agree to school-assessed grades as an alternative, especially since Cambridge International also presented this as an option.

4. Sitting minister violates COVID-19 guidelines

KP’s Finance and Health Minister, Taimur Khan Jhagra, is facing a First Information Report (FIR) after a picture showed him sitting, unmasked, with a group of people at a restaurant. Many people with him weren’t wearing masks, and they were also sitting close to each other (i.e. no social distancing). Later on, Jhagra tried to tell his side of the story. In a tweet, Jhagra said he was invited to a private iftar and was told there would be a few close friends. He apparently wasn’t sure about the actual headcount until he showed up, and wasn’t aware of the location either.

• Now what? Local authorities filed an FIR against Jhagra and the Peshawar restaurant’s owner/manager for violating the govt’s COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs). Authorities sealed the restaurant as well. SOPs include wearing face masks in public and practicing social distancing. Plus, the govt banned indoor and outdoor dining in major cities, including Peshawar, due to the rising number of virus cases.