Minister Mujtaba Shujaa Rehman and Secretary Ijaz Munir, who appeared to be on a damage control mission, called the top BISE officials to the Punjab House in Islamabad to assess the post-riot situation and later held extensive meetings with school and college principals and parents of aggrieved students in Rawalpindi.
Sources privy to the meetings told Dawn that the minister grilled BISE chairman Dr Mohammad Ashraf and Controller Humayun Iqbal for failing to announce the �revised results� of the first year exams on November 30 and bringing bad name to the government of Punjab as a consequence.
At least they should have taken college principals into confidence who could have explained the problems that were delaying the results, the minister reportedly said.
That is what the minister and his secretary did in their meetings with college principals and students� parents. They assured that the new date of December 24 would be kept and appealed for calm until then.
Results of the first year exam had to be computed again as the original one were botched because of the teething problems in the online system introduced in all the education boards of Punjab.
No official press release was issued on the minister�s activities but BISE spokesman Arsalan Cheema told Dawn that a report about the damages that BISE Rawalpindi suffered in the rioting by students on Thursday was handed to the education secretary.
Meanwhile, police set free the 62 students who were arrested for rioting and attacking the police who tried to stop them from causing damage to government property.
SHO Raja Qayoom of New Town police station stated in the complaint he registered about the incident that he had persuaded the first wave of protesting students to disperse. But then many more arrived and broke through the police line and barriers outside the BISE office and went on a rampage inside.
His FIR also alleged that BISE officials were approached to listen to the protesting students who wanted just an assurance from them but the officials did not come out.
SP Malik Matloob Hussain of Potohar police division said he and his seven men were hurt in the violence that followed.
�I was injured in my foot and am still in great pain,� he told Dawn. �However, none of us was hospitalised.�
DAWN