The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Lahore has started a mock test for its new on-screen marking system as part of a pilot project aimed at introducing e-marking of examination papers. On the first day of the pilot, 150 students from Government College University, Punjab College and Superior College appeared in the examination using e-sheets, giving the board an initial batch of digitally marked papers to evaluate before any wider rollout. Chairman of the Task Force on Examinations, Muzammil Mahmood, reviewed the arrangements along with BISE Lahore Chairman Professor Badar-ul-Islam and Controller of Examinations Tauseef-ur-Rehman. The involvement of senior examination officials in overseeing the pilot’s first day suggests the board is treating this test phase as an important step before committing to e-marking on a larger scale, with multiple layers of oversight built into the process from the outset.
Mahmood said the e-marking system would help increase students’ confidence in the examination process and make it easier to identify impersonators through the use of e-sheets. This framing positions the shift to digital marking not only as a modernization of the grading process but also as a tool for strengthening the integrity of examinations, addressing concerns around impersonation that have periodically affected Pakistan’s examination system. An e-sheet based system could make it easier to cross check a candidate’s identity against their submitted answers, since the entire process is tracked digitally rather than relying solely on physical attendance sheets and handwritten answer books.
Professor Badar-ul-Islam said expert teachers from across Pakistan would be able to mark examination papers under the new system, while only qualified teachers would be authorized to check them. This detail suggests the digital system could allow BISE Lahore to draw on markers beyond its immediate local pool, potentially distributing papers to qualified teachers in other parts of the country rather than relying solely on examiners based in Lahore. Expanding the pool of eligible markers in this way could also help the board manage the workload of marking large volumes of papers during peak examination periods, when a shortage of available examiners can sometimes slow down result processing.
Controller of Examinations Tauseef-ur-Rehman said the introduction of e-marking would also significantly reduce complaints related to the rechecking of examination papers, a persistent source of disputes under the traditional paper based marking system, where students and parents have often raised concerns about inconsistent or disputed grading outcomes. A digital system that records how and where marks were awarded on each answer could make it easier to resolve such disputes with clearer documentation, rather than relying on a second manual review of a physical answer sheet. The pilot project marks an early step in BISE Lahore’s move toward digitizing its examination marking process, following similar efforts by educational institutions elsewhere to modernize how papers are graded and reviewed. With the first batch of 150 students having already sat the mock test using e-sheets, the board’s next steps are likely to focus on reviewing the results of this initial trial before deciding how and when to expand e-marking to a broader set of students and examination boards across Punjab.
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