ISLAMABAD: Students from various colleges on Tuesday staged a demonstration outside the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE)in protest against a lengthy first year mathematics paper.

The students said the MCQ section was too lengthy and could not be completed in the stipulated time. They demanded the board compensate them with 20 marks in the entire `objective` section of the paper, on which they could not focus as much due to the longer MCQ section.

A student, Mohammad Irtaza, said several of the MCQs could not be solved in the specified one-minute time.

The call to protest circulated on social media, resulting in many students taking part.

They dispersed when board officials headed by Secretary Board Mohammad Sarwar and Controller Haleem Qureshi held successful talks with them.

Students were assured that their case will be taken up in a meeting on Wednesday.

`We had already decided tohold a meeting of head examiners on Wednesday in which this issue will also be addressed,` the secretary board told Dawn.

He said several principals had already informed the board about the lengthy MCQs.

`We will decide the matter on merit. There will be no injustice with the students, he said.

After receiving complaints from students, parents and teachers, the board chairman, Dr Ikram Ali Malik had a few days ago told Dawn: `The board is thinl(ing about compensating students`. He had hinted that there were only three lengthy MCQs and students will be given extra marks in accordance.

However, the protesting students demanded the board give them 20 marks or that they be allowed to retake the exam.