Punjab to roll out fully digital evaluation system for March 2026 board exams

PTC Web Desk:  In a significant reform aimed at modernising the examination process, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) will introduce an end-to-end digital evaluation system for the March 2026 board examinations. The move is expected to speed up result declaration while improving accuracy and transparency.

Announcing the decision, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said Punjab was set to become one of the first in the country to implement a comprehensive digital assessment framework for answer sheets. He described the initiative as a transformative step in the way board examinations are evaluated.

Under the new system, teachers would assess scanned copies of answer sheets on computers instead of handling physical scripts. The marks awarded for each response will be automatically totalled by specialised software, reducing the scope for calculation errors and expediting the overall process.

The minister noted that the model has already been tested successfully. During the September 2025 supplementary examinations, nearly 23,000 answer sheets were evaluated digitally, with the process completed efficiently and without discrepancies.

To ensure security and smooth digital handling, each page of the redesigned answer booklet will carry a unique QR code. This will allow secure scanning and tracking of answer sheets throughout the evaluation cycle.

The answer scripts will be scanned within a controlled environment and uploaded to a centralised dashboard under the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. Examiners will log in to the platform to evaluate responses as per structured marking schemes. The system also enables automated totalling of marks and real-time monitoring of progress.