LAHORE: The class 10th annual examinations for the year 2024 concluded across Punjab on Monday, with a record number of 2,694,281 candidates appearing in the exam.

The examinations for 10th grade concluded on March 18, while for 9th grade students the exams will begin on March 19, including the English paper exam to be held on March 20, Arabic on March 21, and Pakistan Studies on April 4.

The education department has established 4,088 examination centres across the province, including 14 in different jails.

Punjab Minister for School Education Department (SED) Rana Sikandar Hayat paid a surprise visit to the Lahore Board Examination Centre.

He inspected the matriculation examination process and reviewed the facilities provided to the students at the centre.

He also visited the control room established in Lahore Board examination centre and reviewed the process of monitoring the candidates.

During his visit, the minister interacted with the candidates and asked them about the environment at the centre and the staff’s attitude.

He directed the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) to maintain transparency at the examination centres, provide better environment for the students, launch the biomatric attendance project as soon as possible, and prepare a plan for screen marking.

Meanwhile, Higher Education Department Secretary Dr Farukh Naveed also visited the examination centres. He was given a briefing about the QR and barcode on the answer sheets.

The secretary ordered Controller Irfan Ahmed to make the process of assigning fictitious numbers on the answer sheets more transparent.

Dr Naveed also visited the examination centre for the visually-impaired students and inquired about their question papers.

Board Chairman Dr Ansar Azhar discussed the board’s operations and the examination system, emphasizing the need for transparency and improvement.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024