All boards across country to adopt uniform schedule

LAHORE:In a significant development, all examination boards across Pakistan have agreed to adopt a uniform schedule for conducting matric and intermediate examinations starting in 2025.

This decision aims to address longstanding issues related to university admissions, particularly for medical and dental colleges, by aligning exam results with the academic calendar of higher education institutions. Under the new schedule, board examinations for matric will take place in March while that of intermediate in April with results announced in June and July across the country.

This change seeks to eliminate the challenges students have faced in recent years, such as difficulties in meeting university admission deadlines, particularly delays in the conduct of MDCAT for admission to medical and dental colleges due to delays in result announcements. There are a total of 29 examination boards in Pakistan for local qualifications. Among these, two boards, Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB) and the Ziauddin University Examination Board operate in the private sector. The new schedule was approved by the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) during its 180th meeting at Islamabad on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Junaid Akhlaque, National Coordinator of IBCC, alongside Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah, Executive Director of IBCC, with participation from board chairpersons and key stakeholders.

Talking to The News, Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah said that the revised timeline to be followed by all the 29 exam boards of the country would also address concerns over the harsh weather conditions students faced during exams held from May onwards. It is pertinent to mention here that over the years, students had to endure extreme heat in poorly equipped examination centres, many of which lacked adequate cooling facilities.

“This adjustment not only eases the academic transition but also considers the well-being of students during critical exams,” said Dr Mallah. IBCC Executive Director commended Punjab for not only agreeing to the new timeline but also becoming the first province to announce exact dates for the 2025 exams.

The IBCC meeting also focused on other significant developments as progress on the Model Assessment Framework (MAF), designed to standardize assessments nationwide, was presented and appreciated. Dr Mallah also revealed that the MAF will be officially launched today (Tuesday) by Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal. Additionally, the forum approved the development of a Digital Question Item Bank to support the MAF, ensuring assessments align with modern educational needs. Similarly, in a move to promote equitable access to education, the meeting also approved waivers of registration and exam fees for orphan students, alongside the inclusion of an orphan status column in exam registration forms.