The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore released the 9th class annual examination results, revealing a significant disparity in academic performance between government and private schools.
Less than 40 percent of students from government schools passed the exams, whereas over 70 percent of private school students succeeded. Specifically, 101,079 regular candidates from government institutions took the exam, with only 40,409 passing, resulting in a pass rate of 39.98 percent. Meanwhile, 79,185 students from private schools appeared, and 56,157 passed, achieving a pass percentage of 70.92 percent.
This indicates a gap of nearly 31 percentage points between the two sectors, with private schools outperforming government institutions despite having fewer examinees. Overall, the results were disappointing, with 280,676 candidates appearing and just 130,543 passing, yielding an overall pass rate of 46.51 percent. This means more than half of the students failed the examination.
The divide was also apparent across different academic streams. In the science group, 47.79 percent of government school students passed compared to 73.16 percent in private schools. The humanities group showed an even larger gap, with only 25 percent of government school students passing, while private school students achieved a 38.29 percent pass rate.
Similarly, in the newly introduced technology group, government school students had a pass rate of about 40 percent, contrasted with 71.96 percent for private school students. Across the board, the science stream performed better than others, with 111,802 of 203,844 candidates passing, a success rate of 54.85 percent. Humanities had a notably lower pass rate of 22.93 percent, with 16,228 of 70,761 candidates passing, while technology recorded a 41.39 percent pass rate, with 2,513 of 6,071 candidates succeeding.
The results were announced on Wednesday, with official result cards made available through BISE Lahore’s online portal. These figures have reignited concerns regarding the quality of education and academic standards in government schools, especially given the stark contrast with private institutions.
Moreover, the results highlight considerable challenges within the humanities and technology streams, where success rates remain significantly lower than those in science. The comparison pertains to regular students enrolled in affiliated schools and excludes private candidates.
BISE Lahore administers exams for students from Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Nankana Sahib, making it one of Punjab’s largest examination boards.
