The government of Punjab has decided to introduce a new exam marking system for students next year.
While speaking at a press conference, the Education Minister of Punjab, Rana Sikandar Hayat, said that the government will completely end the manual exam-checking system by reforming it and introducing a completely new system for paper checking.
He added that an on-screen marking process will be initiated across the province starting from 2027.
The Education Minister said the government is doing its best to provide the best facilities to the students all across Punjab, and all of the schools will be held accountable for weak and low academic results.
The Punjab government will use merit, rewards, penalties, and continuous surveillance to improve the education system, he said.
Sikandar Hayat said that the transparent examination system was giving students an equal opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.
He cited the performance of students from minority communities and continued improvements in girls’ results as evidence that reducing cheating and outside interference was benefiting the education system.
The government is also introducing Student Learning Outcome (SLO)-based assessments and developing a new curriculum incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI), he said.
Sikandar Hayat said the reforms would ensure students received fair recognition for their hard work, while making genuine learning the main measure of educational success.
Major reforms in Punjab education system
The Punjab government has decided to introduce major reforms to the examination system across the province’s educational boards to make assessments more transparent, standardised and effective.
Under the proposed reforms, all educational boards will maintain uniform standards for examination papers, including their quality and difficulty level. Students’ subject-wise performance will also be systematically evaluated.
Officials said an examiner reporting system will be introduced to prepare performance-based reports after examinations. The system will enable a detailed analysis of students’ performance in each subject. Previously, examination papers across different boards varied in terms of difficulty.
To improve transparency, authorities are also considering establishing examination centres in halls of major government institutions, where strict monitoring arrangements will be put in place.
The marking process will also be improved through better facilities and a review of the existing marking scheme. The remuneration system for paper checkers will be standardised across all educational boards, while an online system will be developed to ensure payments are made promptly after the completion of marking.
Authorities will also ensure effective training for paper checkers and super-checkers. In addition, the schedule for announcing matriculation and intermediate examination results will be revised.
Chairman of the Chief Minister’s Task Force Muzammil Mahmood said the main objective of the examination reforms is to strengthen transparency in the assessment system and provide a more effective evaluation of students’ academic performance.
