Lahore Board Begins Pilot Test of New E-Sheet Marking System
Lahore Board Begins Pilot Test of New E-Sheet Marking System
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore has started a mock test of its new on-screen marking system, beginning a pilot project for the Lahore board e-sheet marking system that will move examination papers away from manual checking. On the first day of the pilot, 150 students from Government College University (GCU), Punjab College and Superior College sat an examination written on special e-sheets.
The pilot is part of the board’s wider shift towards digital assessment. Officials reviewed the arrangements during the first day’s proceedings in Lahore.
How the Lahore board e-sheet marking system works
Under the new system, students write their answers on specially formatted e-sheets. These sheets are then scanned and converted into a digital format, after which examiners mark them on screen using secure credentials, working remotely rather than travelling to centralised marking centres.
The approach also allows individual questions to be distributed to different examiners, which the board believes will cut down errors and reduce the chance of bias in grading. Digital records of every marked script are stored online, creating a verifiable trail for each answer book.
The Lahore board’s move sits within a national push. The Inter-Boards Coordination Commission has provided e-marking software to education boards across the country free of cost, directing them to implement it fully, and earlier this year BISE Lahore introduced the e-sheet system for computer science papers.
Officials review the first day’s arrangements
Chairman of the Task Force on Examinations, Muzammil Mahmood, visited the examination arrangements along with BISE Lahore Chairman Professor Badar-ul-Islam and Controller of Examinations Tauseef-ur-Rehman.
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. 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 authorised to check them.
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 long-running concern for students and parents.
What happens next
The board plans to extend on-screen marking to more subjects after the pilot. According to the board’s earlier announcements, on-screen marking was to be introduced from the second annual examinations of 2026, with examiners checking answer books online from their homes.
The reforms follow a series of steps by BISE Lahore to strengthen examination integrity, including centralised marking for ninth-class practicals and the installation of CCTV cameras in laboratories to monitor practical exams. The changes have been directed by Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat as part of the provincial government’s effort to make examinations fairer and more transparent.
What is the e-sheet marking system?
It is a method where students answer on specially designed e-sheets that are scanned and marked digitally on screen by examiners, instead of the traditional manual checking of physical answer books.
Who will mark papers under the new system?
Only qualified teachers will be authorised to mark the papers. Because the sheets are digital, teachers from across Pakistan will be able to take part in the marking process.
When will it apply to all examinations?
The board is running a pilot first. Its earlier announcements indicated that on-screen marking would start from the second annual examinations of 2026, expanding gradually to more subjects.
Will e-marking reduce rechecking complaints?
The board expects it to. The Controller of Examinations said the digital system would significantly reduce rechecking complaints, as each script will have a complete digital record that can be reviewed.
