High achievers: 70 per cent pass matric examinations in Lahore

Of the 192,844 candidates appearing in the examination, 135,336 declared successful

LAHORE:

The Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) on Saturday announced the results of its secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations 2015. The overall pass percentage was 70.18, up from last year’s 66.94 per cent.

The announcement was made at a ceremony at Alhamra Hall on The Mall to honour position holders whose names had been announced at a press conference on Friday. Food Minister Bilal Yasin was the chief guest at the ceremony attended by MPAs Rana Arshad, Majid Zahoor and Mian Marghoob Ahmed. No senior official from the Education Department was present on the occasion.

Of the 192,844 candidates who sat the examination, 135,336 passed it. In the science group, the pass percentage was 78.99. It was 58.53 per cent in the humanities group. Most position holders are from government schools.

Board Chairman Nasrullah Virk said its performance had improved over the years. He praised the government and board officials for this. He said the process of upgrading the board been completed. He congratulated the successful students and urged them to continue to work hard.

Yasin said promotion of education was the government’s priority. “Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is doing his best to provide the best learning opportunities to students across the province.” He said efforts were underway to further lift the standards across the province.

The minister later distributed medals and cash prizes of Rs20,000, Rs15,000 and Rs10,000 among the toppers. A laptop was awarded to Shafaq Zahid who stood first in the SSC examination.

Speaking to the media, the top students, their parents and teachers said they were satisfied with the quality of education at schools.

Usama Abid, a private student who stood first among boys in the humanities  group, said he wanted to become a religious scholar. “I took private tuition for a few months but then I studied on my own,” he told The Express Tribune.

Muhammad Asim, a private candidate from Kasur, said he would study while working on the fields.

The board has announced that supplementary examinations would commence on September 8. Applications can be made without a late-fee penalty until August 7. It also announced that the candidates intending to apply for re-checking should request so on the board’s website within 15 days of the declaration of the results.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2015.