LAHORE: The Punjab Education, Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority (PECTAA) has restored the grade VIII public examination in 2026 after a six-year hiatus.

The examination will commence from March 9 with results scheduled to be announced on April 9.

“In accordance with the vision of the chief minister and education minister, PECTAA CEO Muhammad Musa Ali Bokhari, managing director academics and the technical team have undertaken a comprehensive reform of the assessment framework to ensure transparency, reliability and integrity in public examinations,” PECTAA said in a statement on Saturday.

“The revived examination introduces a modern, technology-integrated assessment architecture fully-aligned with student learning outcomes (SLOs). For the first time, both objective (MCQs) and subjective components will be marked entirely online through a centralised e-marking system integrated with AI-assisted validation mechanisms. Each answer script will bear only a secure QR code, and markers will not have access to the identity of the candidate, thereby ensuring complete anonymity and eliminating any possibility of bias. The marking process will be supported by subject-specific trained examiners, automated validation protocols, expert moderation and multi-tier human quality assurance mechanisms,” it said.

It said that no two candidates would receive the same question paper, as equated test forms would be digitally generated from secure item banks, strengthening examination security and integrity.

Approximately one million candidates will appear in the examination across 5,714 centres, supervised by nearly 26,000 invigilators. The process will be supported by district-level operational command structures, digital centre mapping and real-time monitoring systems to generate high-reliability performance analytics.

“The restoration of the grade VIII public examination reflects PECTAA’s commitment to institutional reform and marks a decisive step toward building a transparent, digitally empowered and performance-driven education system in Punjab,” it said.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2026