Chairman Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) Professor Faqir Muhammad Lakho announced on Tuesday that the first phase of the annual intermediate examinations for 2026 would commence on Wednesday, April 29, and continue until Monday, June 15.
The examinations will cover multiple streams, including Science (Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medical, Science General), Home Economics, Arts (Regular and Private), and special candidates. More than 160,000 candidates are expected to appear in the exams, which will be conducted in both morning and evening shifts.
According to the chairman, over 134,000 candidates will appear in the morning shift (9am to 12pm) for science and home economics groups, while more than 26,000 candidates will sit in the evening shift (2pm to 5pm), comprising arts groups, special candidates, and Diploma in Physical Education students.
Speaking at a press conference, attended by Controller of Examinations Zarina Rashid, Prof Lakho said a total of 175 examination centres had been established across the city 130 for the morning shift and 45 for the evening shift. Of these, 21 centres have been declared highly sensitive.
He stated that all arrangements had been finalised to ensure transparent and peaceful conduct of the examinations. Letters have been sent to relevant authorities — including the Sindh police chief, Karachi commissioner, education department officials, Rangers, K-Electric, and the health department to ensure security, traffic management, uninterrupted power supply, and medical facilities.
To address complaints and monitor the examination process, two central monitoring cells have been set up at the Karachi commissioner’s office and the BIEK office. Candidates and parents can report issues through designated helpline numbers. In view of the prevailing heatwave, the board has also coordinated with emergency services to ensure the availability of first aid boxes at examination centres and ambulance services nearby.
Prof Lakho further announced the introduction of a Digital Attendance Monitoring System (DAMS) for the first time to record the attendance of both students and examination staff electronically, aimed at enhancing transparency and enabling prompt detection of irregularities. He claimed that complaints regarding question papers being leaked on WhatsApp groups after the commencement of exams had been largely controlled in recent years. However, the board has written to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency to take legal action against those involved in such activities.
Strict measures have been enforced to curb cheating. Students will not be allowed to carry mobile phones, tablets, laptops, or any electronic devices into examination centres. Possession of cheating material or electronic devices during exams may result in cancellation of papers or disqualification for up to three years. Section 144 will be imposed around examination centres, banning the operation of photocopy shops and restricting the movement of unauthorised individuals in the vicinity.
The chairman added that centre control officers had been assigned to ensure the secure and timely delivery of question papers and the safe return of sealed answer scripts to the board office. Vigilance officers have also been deployed at each centre to monitor the examination process. To prevent paper leaks before the start of exams, centre officials have been instructed to ensure that sealed question paper packets are opened in the presence of centre superintendents and vigilance officers, with video recordings to be shared with the board’s control room. Each question paper will carry the name and a confidential code of its respective examination centre to help identify the source in case of any leak.
