Punjab’s Class 8 (Grade VIII) examination results for 2026 have officially been announced in a big milestone for the province’s education system.
Conducted by the Punjab Curriculum Training and Assessment Authority, this year’s assessment was the first-ever fully AI-enabled and 100% machine-marked examination.
According to the results, nearly one million students appeared in the exams, with an impressive overall pass rate of 88%, the highest ever recorded. Girls outperformed boys significantly, achieving a pass percentage of 92%, compared to 83% for boys.
Students can check their results online through the official PECTAA portal from 3 PM onwards.
The large-scale examination was held across Punjab from March 9 to 12, with students from 40 districts and 144 tehsils. A total of 994,651 students participated, with exams conducted in 5,714 centres grouped into 1,901 clusters, covering 26,047 schools.
To ensure smooth operations, over 6,100 superintendents and more than 21,700 invigilators were deployed. Authorities also conducted extensive training sessions for field staff, including Tehsil Focal Persons and District Education teams, to ensure proper implementation of examination procedures and digital systems.
The examination system was revamped after a six-year gap to restore standardised assessment and strengthen merit-based evaluation. The process was supervised by senior officials, including CEO Muhammad Musa Ali Bokhari and academic lead Dr Zubda Zia, ensuring transparency and quality assurance throughout.
For the first time, the assessment introduced advanced technology such as AI-based e-marking, QR-coded answer sheets, and a digital question bank. Mobile applications were also used for attendance, paper scanning, and real-time monitoring. To maintain fairness, four different versions of question papers were generated so that no two adjacent students received the same paper.
In parallel, the School-Based Assessment (SBA) programme was also conducted, covering around 6.8 million students across Punjab.
Exams postponed in Islamabad
On the other hand, the exams scheduled for today and tomorrow in Red Zone, Islamabad, have been postponed due to ongoing diplomatic activities in Islamabad.
The new dates for these exams will be announced at a later date.
According to the notification that was issued by the Federal Directorate of Education Islamabad, the exams that were going to happen at Centre A and B of Islamabad Model school for Boys, G-6/4 have been postponed.
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