Cost of education: Punjab education boards hike exam fees

RBISE to introduce a new online admission and result system.

RAWALPINDI:

In a move that will effect the students studying in public schools, the Punjab government has decided to increase the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) exam fees for the upcoming acadmic year, it has been learnt. Further, the boards of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) across the province are expected to raise the miscellaneous fee, besides introducing a new online admission and results system to replace the controversial one used this term.

The decision was taken with the approval of the chairpersons of all eight Punjab-based boards.

According to the notification, the admission fee for SSC (arts group) has been increased from Rs700 to Rs800 and for the science group, it has gone from Rs800 to Rs900. Similarly, HSSC fees have been increased by Rs100 and Rs150 for parts one and two respectively. Board transfer fees have been increased by Rs500, whereas the issuance of certificate fee has been increased by Rs100.

With the introduction of new system, students will be able to check their results on the websites of their respective boards, besides being able to get their results on a CD for Rs100, said an official.

The Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (RBISE), which was mired in controversy after the forged result scandal last year, will announce the SSC part-II results on July 25 while the SSC part-I results would be announced on August 25, as will the other boards in Punjab.

Moreover, the Punjab government has introduced an online admission and results system in all eight boards — Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, and Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Gujranwala — and banned the manual system of announcing results, he added. Students will get their result details on their respective boards’ websites and through CDs. Sources said that no board will issue gazettes.

Upcoming SSC and HSSC results will be announced by following the newly introduced system and similarly, an online system will be used for registration for future exams.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.