KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Universities and Boards Muhammad Ali Malkani, on Monday, said that semi-automation has been introduced in the examination system of all the educational boards by bringing in optical mark recognition (OMR) system for evaluation and marking of answer sheets.
OMR based evaluation will be introduced in 2024 supplementary examination and then will be rolled out in annual examination 2025, he said while addressing the closing ceremony of the training workshop on digitizing the examination assessment system in Sindh organized by Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project (SSEIP).
Malkani said that integration of technology in evaluation, a first-of-its-kind attempt at examination reform in Sindh, will help reducing the system errors involved in board assessment.
Underscoring the need of leveraging technology to reform the examination system, Malkani said that we have to increase the skills of our teachers by using the current and future digital technologies.
The minister said that
we are also making efforts to conduct next board exams in the province in March as in other provinces, the exams are held in March, while in Sindh, the exams are held until June and announcement of result takes some more time. It causes difficulties to students of Sindh in getting admissions in higher education institutions.
Project Director Rizwan Soomro briefed the meeting that the first phase (May to August) covers five key subjects for classes IX to XII, while the second phase will cover the remaining compulsory and elective subjects for the same grades.
400 teachers (paper setters, moderators, markers and reviewers) are participating in the first phase of this workshop while more 600 teachers will participate in the second phase, he informed adding that 85 BISEs officials will be trained on optical mark recognition (OMR) equipment, software and transition from traditional to digital assessment.
The project is working on provision of OMR and E-marking system to all boards, preparation of uniform examin
ation syllabus and specification tables as per international standards, preparation of model question papers based on Student Learning Objectives, and other areas including redesigning test materials to enhance critical thinking.
Secretary Universities and Boards Muhammad Abbas Baloch, and other relevant officers attended the workshop that concluded on distribution of certificates among participating teachers.