Punjab boards to take paper checking online

Boards to scan answer scripts for on-screen evaluation

LAHORE:

Punjab's education boards are preparing to replace physical examination paper checking with scanning of answer scripts and on-screen evaluation.

According to sources in the education sector, the decision is aimed at reducing marking errors and improving accountability and students' confidence in examination results.

Under the proposed system, completed answer scripts will be scanned and converted into secure digital record before being assigned electronically to authorised examiners for assessment.

Instead of receiving bundles of papers at conventional marking centres, the examiners will evaluate scanned scripts through a controlled online platform. Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has directed all education boards to introduce digital reforms and launch online screen marking initially on a pilot basis for supplementary examinations.

He has also ordered the boards to take action against examiners involved in incorrect marking and strengthen monitoring of the evaluation process.

Sources said the proposed framework would introduce stronger identity verification for examiners to prevent unauthorised persons from accessing answer scripts. Under the mechanism being considered, examiners would be authenticated through facial recognition or other secure verification measures before being allowed to enter the marking system.

The objective is to ensure that the examiner assigned a particular script evaluates it. The proposed safeguards would also make it difficult for an examiner to share login credentials or allow another person to perform marking on his or her behalf.

Earlier reforms also moved the examination system towards biometric and digital verification.

The Lahore board has made biometric thumb impressions mandatory for Class IX and XI candidates during registration, while authorities have been working to strengthen digital identification and monitoring at examination centres. The Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) has already announced e-marking reforms under which theory papers are scanned and digitised, while examiners receive secure IDs to evaluate scripts remotely. The system is being introduced gradually, with officials indicating that its use will expand to additional subjects over time.

The sources said the proposed marking mechanism would also impose time limits for examiners. Each digitally assigned sheet would have to be evaluated within a prescribed period, allowing examination authorities to track pending scripts and identify unusual delays.

The time bound mechanism is expected to address another longstanding weakness of difficulty to determine when a paper was received, who handled it and how long was spent evaluating it. Under the digital system, each marking activity can generate an electronic record, creating an audit trail for the boards.

Complaints of incorrect marking, unchecked answers, calculation mistakes and inconsistencies between examiners have repeatedly caused concerns among students and parents.

The provincial government has been pushing the boards towards systems that reduce the risk of human error while retaining qualified teachers as the final decision-makers.

The proposed arrangement may also change the way examiners receive answer scripts. Instead of an examiner being handed hundreds of answer books, papers or individual questions may be allocated electronically in batches.

The Lahore BISE has disclosed plans involving smaller batches of questions to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Another benefit would be reduction in physical movement of answer scripts. Once papers are scanned, their digital copies can be distributed to authorised evaluators without transporting original scripts.