PESHAWAR: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Peshawar, is going to adopt machine-based marking of the objective version of papers of the secondary and higher secondary level examinations.

BISE, Peshawar, chairman Prof Mohammad Shafi said that the initiative had been started as a pilot project and would give result within two or three days. He said that besides minimising mistakes it would also help in changing and correcting the papers.

He said that for ending the trend of copying in examinations, a modern pattern was being adopted under which each student would have separate question paper and it was being initiated on test basis.

BISE chairman says initiative started as pilot project

Prof Shafi said that such a machine was being installed at the board, which would prepare different versions of question papers and even the question paper of candidates in every lane of the exam centre would be different. He said that question papers would be prepared on modern pattern and every year the objective section would be enhanced and no one would be able to share it with others.

The BISE chairman said that the initiatives taken by the Peshawar board had been declared compulsory for other boards also. He said that during last three years all record of the board since its establishment in 1961 had been digitized and now it was easily available. The second major step taken by the board is making the enrolment of students of 9th class and registration of the intermediate level students.

He said that now the students from Khyber Agency, Mohmand Agency and Chitral could enrol themselves online without coming from far-flung areas and standing in long queues for submission of their forms.

The benefit of the initiative, he said, was the availability of whole data on computer. He said that as the data was submitted online, therefore, the chances of mistakes had been eliminated.

He said that the BISE, Peshawar, had made the first experience in the country for introducing online registration and making standards for private schools in the province. He said that they had also established the first Registration of Private Schools Authority besides setting standards for physical, academic, co-curricular and management for private schools and allocated specified marks for them. Every school, he said, had to pass through for getting rating.

He said that the 60 per cent re-totalling of marks in the board papers had been made online. He said that those applying for re-totalling of their marks would get response either through SMS or email while the result was also available online.

He said that now the students from small towns and rural areas did not need to travel to Peshawar in this regard.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2014