Bored students are now petitioning 'Shafqat jaani' to cancel the CIE exams

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood may already be regretting his decision to shut schools and have students sit out the fresh wave of coronavirus cases at home — they're now asking him to have the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) for this year cancelled as well. 

With the '#cancelcieeams2021' trend racking up more than 40 thousand tweets on Twitter by early Monday evening, Pakistani students started piling the pressure on their beloved 'Shafqat jaani' to listen to their demands. 

Some took the aggressive route. 

Others went for the emotional blackmailing strategy. 

However, apart from the obligatory meme-fest the '#cancelcieexams2021' trend has generated on Twitter, some people also brought forth some valid concerns regarding why they feel the exams should be canceled this year. 

In a message shared widely on Twitter, a student complained of having been unable to take proper classes or attend school regularly due to the coronavirus preventions put in place by the government. 

They also claimed that the exams have been cancelled in other countries in favour of predicted grades — and there should be no reason why Pakistan shouldn't adopt a similar policy. 

Twitter user @ayeshaababar compiled all the complaints into one thread.

"Batch of 2020 did not have to face the consequences of #covid19, yet had their exams cancelled due to the rise in cases. On the other hand, us, Batch of 2021, the real sufferers, the ones who had to GO THROUGH IT ALL....," she wrote. 

"The people who had to see the REAL disruption caused by the pandemic, constantly switching between online and on campus classes, ARE BEING FORCED TO TAKE EXAMS," she complained.

"Cambridge could’ve easily done something to help us. For example, cutting down the syllabus. Excluding some topics. Reducing the work load. But it did not. And honestly, if it does that right now, it wouldn’t be of any use."

"A lot of us haven’t done well in the internal/online exams and we have our reasons. SOLID reasons. Some of us lost our parents, grandparents, closed ones, etc. Some of us were mentally not okay." 

"We’re really not at a good place currently. The stress is real. And it’s bad. We’re worried about our grades. We’re worried about our health. We’re worried about the deaths that occurred around us. We’ve lost our closed ones. All of it just sucks okay," she wrote. 

Others, however, seem to have gotten onto the bandwagon just for the memes. 

Twitter user Muhammad Zain told his fellow students to keep their hopes up: Shafqat Mehmood's shafqat (kindness) would compel him to take action. 

However, another user felt that things are getting out of hand, and Shafqat Mahmood is soon going to lose his patience with his fanbase.