KP gears up for annual matric exams amidst ‘zero tolerance for cheating’

PESHAWAR: Over 920,000 students across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will appear in the annual matriculation exams starting tomorrow (Tuesday, April 8), according to official documents from the KP Elementary and Secondary Education Department.

As per the data, 194,043 students will sit for the exams under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar, with 776 examination centres established for the purpose.

BISE Abbottabad will oversee exams for 144,750 students at 558 centres, while in Bannu, 57,777 students will take the exams across 223 centres. Under the Mardan education board, 159,483 students will appear in 636 centres.

Similarly, 116,270 students are registered under BISE Malakand, 97,967 under BISE Swat, 48,979 under BISE Dera Ismail Khan, and 100,542 students will appear under the Kohat education board. Malakand has set up 537 centres, Swat 411, DI Khan 177, and Kohat 316.

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To curb cheating, a high-level meeting was held last week under KP Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, where it was decided that the Education Monitoring Authority, district administrations, and Special Branch would monitor the exams. Installation of CCTV cameras in exam centres was also ordered where necessary.

Assistant commissioners across the province have been directed to oversee the exams, while live monitoring teams will be deployed by the Education Monitoring Authority. Strict action has been promised against those aiding in cheating.

Speaking in the provincial assembly on Monday, KP Education Minister Faisal Khan Tarakai said more than 3,000 exam halls have been arranged province-wide. He added that in the past, exam papers were frequently leaked, which has prompted the relocation of private centres to government schools — including 93 centres in Peshawar. CCTV cameras have been installed, and law enforcement officials are being deployed for surveillance.

Earlier, PPP MPA Ahmad Khan Kundi had raised a call-attention notice regarding cheating and irregularities in matric exams.