The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Lahore has introduced an automated system for the assignment of examiners to practical examinations for the first time in its history, marking a significant step toward eliminating the manual processes and informal influences that have long undermined the credibility of Pakistan’s public examination system. The initiative has been implemented under the directives of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif as part of the Punjab government’s broader push to modernise public services and strengthen citizen trust in academic assessments across the province.
Under the new framework, the posting of examiners to practical examination centres is now handled entirely through a computerised process, removing the scope for any individual to influence their own assignment or secure placement at preferred locations. Officials confirmed that the automation directly addresses the culture of favouritism that had previously allowed personal connections and informal networks to shape examiner deployments, a practice that raised persistent concerns about the fairness of practical assessment outcomes for students across the province. Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat directed examination authorities to ensure complete transparency in all examination processes, with merit-based deployment of examiners identified as a non-negotiable standard going forward.
Alongside the automated assignment system, the Lahore Board has also shifted all practical examinations to a centralised marking framework, with the necessary preparations for this transition already finalised ahead of the current examination cycle. The Controller of Examinations stated that removing human interference from the assessment process is fundamental to maintaining fairness, and that merit and transparency remain the board’s most fundamental operational priorities. The development reflects a pattern of digitisation measures being pursued by the Punjab government across its education sector, which has in recent months also introduced an artificial intelligence curriculum in schools, automated systems for result processing, and policy changes to examination failure rules, all as part of a coordinated effort to bring greater accountability, consistency, and integrity to one of the province’s most consequential public service systems.
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