Position holders demand education system overhaul

Students call for curriculum, exams to be redesigned according to modern requirements

RAWALPINDI:

Position-holding students of the Rawalpindi Board Intermediate examination have termed the existing educational, teaching and examination system outdated and demanded its immediate replacement with a system designed according to modern requirements.

The position holders said social media provided more detailed guidance than their curriculum.

They said rote learning could help students pass examinations but could not help them secure positions.

Muneeb Shah, Muhammad Arteza and Kiran Ramzan said the existing teaching system produced clerks, adding that heavy schoolbags and thick books were not a solution.

They said the curriculum should be prepared by keeping in view the intelligence and understanding of children in primary, middle and high school classes and should not be designed like an MA-level curriculum.

They said that in science subjects, if an answer was correct, no marks could be deducted, which was why science students secured higher marks.

Aneqa and Balaj Javed also demanded changes to the teaching and examination system.

The position holders also termed the existing political system outdated and expressed strong displeasure over it.

Girls outshine boys

Earlier in the day, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rawalpindi formally announced the results of the Intermediate First Annual Examination 2026 and distributed prizes among position-holding students.

All position holders were also presented with a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out police contingent.

Special guests Raja Abdul Hanif, Member Provincial Assembly and Chairman CMIT Punjab, and Malik Iftikhar Ahmed, MPA and Parliamentary Secretary for Zakat and Ushr Punjab, attended the ceremony.

Chief Executive IBCC Islamabad Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah, Chairman Rawalpindi Education Board Professor Dr Iqbal Mahmood, Controller Examinations Tanveer Asghar Awan and Board Secretary Professor Amjad Iqbal Khattak were also present.

The board's overall pass percentage stood at 60.8 per cent. The pass rate among boys was 46.52 per cent, while girls recorded a pass rate of 67.56 per cent.

Chairman Rawalpindi Education Board Professor Dr Iqbal Mahmood congratulated the successful students, their parents and teachers.

He said the students' success was the result of their hard work, encouragement from their parents and guidance from their teachers.

Congratulating the position holders, he said the talented youth were a valuable asset for the country and nation.

Chief Executive IBCC Islamabad Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah said outstanding achievement in education was the result of students' hard work, parental encouragement and teachers' guidance.

Special guest Malik Iftikhar Ahmed, MPA and Parliamentary Secretary for Zakat and Ushr Punjab, congratulated the successful students in his address and said the talented youth were a valuable asset to the nation.

Another special guest, Raja Abdul Hanif, MPA and Chairman CMIT Punjab, said in his address that the tradition of presenting position holders with a guard of honour was an effective means of encouraging them.

At the end, prizes and certificates were distributed among the position holders.