LAHORE: The overall percentage of successful candidates in the 2019 annual matriculation examination remained 71.75 per cent with an increase of 8.6pc from the last year – 163,026 students out of 227,221 have been declared pass in the result announced by the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE).

The overall percentage in the 2018 matriculation examination was 63.15pc.

A prize distribution ceremony for the high achievers in the examination was organised at a private hotel on Monday.

Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yassir Humayun, Minister for School Education Murad Raas, Lahore BISE Chairman Prof Chaudhry Ismail and controller Nasir Jamil attended the ceremony. A large number of students, teachers, parents and BISE staff were also present.

According to the gazette, the pass percentage in the Science group was 80.48pc, as 124,365 out of 154,526 students were declared pass, while 38,661 out of 72,695 students passed in Humanities group, making its percentage 53.18.

The students who secured first, second and third positions were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals and Rs20,000, Rs15,000 and Rs10,000, respectively. Danish Athar, who scored the overall highest marks, was also awarded a laptop.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister Humayun claimed that no one from the previous governments had tried to bring reforms in the education sector. The current obsolete education system was introduced by the British in the subcontinent as they wanted clerical staff from this region while adopting another system in their country to produce cognitive abilities in their students.

He said the current government was implementing its manifesto and introducing reforms in the education system of the country. He further said the government would soon introduce Relative Grading System for the compilation of board examination results. With relative grading, students would focus more on gaining knowledge instead of focusing on high marks.

He said the mechanism for checking papers would also be improved. The design of papers would test the cognitive abilities and critical thinking of students according to international standards. A gradual transformation process would yield results in the coming years, as any sudden change may cause a chaotic situation, he added.

The minister also said that a number of public sector universities and eight out of nine educational boards were operating without regular heads and the government had appointed all these officials.

Minister Raas said that they were introducing education reforms in three phases – in the first phase, they were bringing betterment to classes I to V. The public would feel the improvement in the education system in two to three years after completion of these phase-wise reforms. He thanked the higher education minister for appointing chairmen in all educational boards of the province.

BISE Chairman Prof Ismail said the board had presented the result without any delay and also ensured transparency. They were also holding a special examination of Cambridge level to check irregularities in their examination system.

He explained that 2,000 students, who passed the matriculation exam, would participate in the Cambridge examination, which would be held at the Wahdat Road Examination Hall.

He said the students who would pass that exam would be given a special certificate from the board, which would not be counted count as a degree.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2019