Shafqat Mehmood says NCOC to discuss ‘poor’ SOP compliance outside Cambridge exams centres

• Shafqat Mehmood says a special NCOC session will review SOP compliance and COVID-19 spread today.
• Says it is obvious compliance is poor outside exam centres.
• Cambridge exams are being held across Pakistan amid calls for their cancellation due to the spread of coronavirus.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Tuesday said that the compliance of coronavirus SOPs outside Cambridge exam centres is "poor" and will be discussed in a special session of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) today.

The Cambridge examinations started on Monday amid strong calls from the students and their parents to cancel exams considering the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.

The minister said that the permission to hold exams was conditional on strict SOP observance.

“As more reports have come in, it is obvious that outside the exam centres the compliance is poor. This and the latest corona spread reports will be discussed in a special NCOC meeting today afternoon,” he said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

'Only 50 students allowed at a centre'

Earlier, on Monday, a NCOC session, headed by its chairperson Asad Umar and co-chaired by National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood-Uz-Zaman Khan, was held in Islamabad.

Read more: Shafqat Mehmood slams fake picture and reports of examination halls

The NCOC, in a statement, said the examinations were being conducted in line with the Ministry of Education's decisions. The forum directed that not more than 50 students should be allowed in a centre.

Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, violation of coronavirus SOPs was seen, as several students did not wear face masks — essential equipment to keep the virus at bay. The parents were also present outside the exam halls waiting for their children.