Rs.100,000 reward announced for students

The Education Minister of Punjab, Rana Sikandar Hayat, has announced an increase in the cash award for top-performing matriculation students, raising it from Rs.20,000 to Rs.100,000.

The announcement was made as he officially released the results of the 2026 annual matriculation examinations for all educational boards across Punjab.

According to the minister, the results were published simultaneously for the first time, describing the move as part of the Punjab government’s efforts to improve transparency in the examination system.

Rana Sikandar has announced that position-holder students will be awarded both the increased cash prize and a laptop in recognition of their academic achievement.

He also said modern technology had been used for the first time in the preparation of examination results.

The provincial education minister said that students will now be able to download officially verified result cards online, eliminating the need for physical copies.

Students enrolled in private schools will also be able to access their verified result cards through their institutions’ online portals, with no additional verification required.

The minister also announced the introduction of an AI-powered chatbot that will provide students with instant access to related information.

Rana Sikandar Hayat said the Punjab government was accelerating the digitalization of educational boards. From next year, a full screen-marking system will be introduced to improve the quality and consistency of paper marking, while the centralized marking process will be made more transparent.

He further said that students would also be able to review their paper through a QR code-based system.

The education minister said no complaints had been received this year regarding the alleged sale of examination centers, and claimed that cheating networks had been reduced by 95 percent across Punjab.

He also said enrolment at public universities had shown a significant increase.