The matriculation exam results for 2025, announced by the Punjab School Education Boards (BISE), show that private schools have secured top positions in all eight BISE regions. However, government schools have also demonstrated significant improvements in pass rates, signaling the effectiveness of ongoing education reforms.
Punjab’s Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, congratulated the top-performing students, including Haram Fatima and Haroon Hameed, who secured the first position in the province. She also recognized other high achievers such as Moeez Qamar, Faizan Farid Israr, and Muhammad Usman. The CM expressed particular pride in the success of female students, highlighting Haram Fatima, a government schoolteacher’s daughter, and Haroon Hameed, the son of a government college professor.
Despite the dominance of private school students in the top positions across various boards, including Lahore, Faisalabad, and Sargodha, government schools showed notable progress. The passing rate for government schools in Lahore, for example, improved from 61.2% to 68.4%. Other districts like Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Multan also saw increased pass rates. These gains have been attributed to the government’s new policies, which include enhanced school monitoring, special support for struggling students, and improvements to school facilities.
However, challenges remain, particularly in rural areas. In districts such as Bhakkar, Rajanpur, and DG Khan, government school pass rates remained below 50%. Education experts pointed to issues like poor infrastructure, teacher shortages, and limited resources that continue to hinder students in these areas.
Private schools continue to perform better overall, benefiting from better resources, smaller class sizes, and extensive exam preparation. Many private school students also attend after-school tuition, contributing to their higher exam scores. In contrast, public sector schools still face disparities due to the gap between urban and rural education quality.
The Punjab School Education Department has made efforts to improve public schools, including using data for school monitoring, stricter teacher evaluations, and involving local communities in school matters. However, experts stress that deeper reforms are needed to address the fundamental issues that still affect government schools.
Private schools’ teachers are seen as playing a significant role in the recent academic success, with the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association President, Kashif Adeeb Jawdani, attributing this to the dedication of teachers. Meanwhile, Punjab Teachers Union President Allah Rakha Gujjar emphasized the importance of improving public sector school infrastructure to better compete with private institutions.
In addition to these developments, CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif reviewed proposals for governance reforms in public sector universities and directed authorities to implement a new KPI system to raise educational standards. She also called for surprise checks on underperforming colleges to ensure better governance and accountability in the education sector.
