The recent admission test conducted by NED University of Engineering and Technology has brought to light serious concerns regarding the academic standards of Sindh’s public examination boards. In particular, the Sindh Board of Technical Education (SBTE) and several boards from interior Sindh showed alarmingly poor performance, while students from Cambridge, foreign systems, and independent boards demonstrated much higher success rates.
Dr. Tufail, Vice Chancellor of NED University, noted that many students who had achieved between 70% and 80% marks in their first-year intermediate exams failed to qualify in the university’s admission test. This discrepancy raises critical questions about the authenticity and credibility of the marks awarded by some public boards.
The results revealed that students from foreign examination boards attained the highest pass percentage at 95.65%, followed closely by Cambridge candidates at 94.32%. The Aga Khan University Examination Board recorded a pass rate of 88.84%, while the Federal Board achieved 83.71%. Students from the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi passed at a rate of 79.91%.
Meanwhile, public boards in Sindh lagged far behind. The Sindh Board of Technical Education posted the lowest pass rate at just 13.95%, the weakest among all boards. Boards in interior Sindh also underperformed, with Hyderabad at 46.83%, Nawabshah 42.03%, Mirpurkhas 40.43%, Larkana 36.71%, and Sukkur 35.06%.
Dr. Tufail clarified that A-Level students were excluded from these statistics as their exams were still ongoing; their admission tests will be conducted once their examinations conclude.
A total of 13,056 candidates appeared for the NED admission test, with 9,252 qualifying, resulting in an overall pass rate of 70.86%. Candidates must secure a minimum of 50% marks in the admission test to be eligible for open merit consideration.
These findings underscore a growing disparity between the marks awarded by public boards and the actual academic abilities of students. Education experts argue that when a significant number of students scoring 70-80% in intermediate exams fail a basic university admission test, it casts serious doubts on the reliability and quality of assessments conducted by some public boards.
In a significant development, the results also highlight longstanding governance issues within Sindh’s examination boards. Many have operated for years without permanent leadership, including chairpersons, examination controllers, secretaries, or audit officers. Notably, the Hyderabad Board and Karachi Matriculation Board have been without permanent chairpersons for several months.
Educationists emphasize that the absence of stable leadership, weak regulatory oversight, and delays in institutional reforms have severely impacted the credibility and academic standards of Sindh’s public examination boards. This decline threatens the educational futures of thousands of students across the province.
