Lahore: In a significant move to overhaul the education system, the education authorities in Punjab have declared the use of digital, on-screen marking of education board (BISE) examination, beginning next year. The first stage of a larger change to technology-driven assessment will be the implementation of the reform in relation to the subject of computer science.
The program is expected to enhance the level of transparency, efficiency, and accuracy in the examination process and will greatly cut on delay in compilation of results. Officials reckon that abandoning the traditional manual checking will play a part in taming long term problems pertaining to errors, favoritism as well as administrative anomalies.
Goals Behind the Reform
Education officials stated that the most important benefits of adopting the digital marking were the acceleration of the evaluation procedure, maintenance of impartial and comparable assessment norms, and removal of human mistakes. It is also likely that the system will improve the security of data and facilitate the improvement of the tracking performance of examiners.
It is all about alignment of our examination system to the current standards, said an official. Digital marking will enable it to provide more speedy and dependable results among students.
Announcement by Education Task Force
This was being developed by Muzammil Mahmood, Chairman of the Task Force on Boards by Chief Minister in a briefing to senior education department officials and the representatives of different BISE boards. He added that the reform is also included in the government vision to change the conventional systems with digital solutions.
According to Mahmood, examiner and technical staff training programs will be introduced so that the new system can be implemented smoothly.
Part of a Larger Digital Initiative
The transaction is not restricted to marking only. The government announced that it belongs to a broader scheme of digitalizing the education sector of Punjab. This includes:
- Standardization of examination rules across boards
- Biometric verification of students at examination centers
- Revisions in practical exam procedures
- Increased use of technology for record management and monitoring
These measures aim to strengthen credibility and restore public confidence in board examinations.
Why Computer Science Was Chosen First
The pilot phase has been chosen due to the objective and ready-structure paper format of computer science, which is deemed more convenient to automated and on-screen scoring. This according to the officials will enable them to test the system successfully before they extend it to other subjects.
In case of a success, the digital marking system would be extended to different subjects and boards in Punjab progressively.
The decision has been received as progressive by education experts who contended that it has been a move towards creating a more transparent and student friendly examination system. Their emphasis however is also on the requirement of appropriate infrastructure, training and technical assistance so as not to disrupt during the transition.
As Punjab is heading to the digital marking, both the students and the teachers are optimistic that the new system will produce faster results, fairer tests and a more efficient process of examination in the future.
