18/09/2026
ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS, MEDALS AND PRIZES IN CASE OF IMPROVEMENT OF MARKS IN SSC/HSSC
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Kohat is giving consideration to eligibility of candidates for scholarships, medals, prizes, and other academic awards in cases where a candidate improves his/her marks in SSC / HSSC Part-I or Part-II within the prescribed period.
Historically, the Secondary School Certificate/Higher Secondary School Certificate (SSC/HSSC) examinations were conducted as single examinations. Subsequently, the examinations were bifurcated into Part-I and Part II, corresponding to Class 9th/11thand Class 10th/12threspectively. Accordingly, the existing rules governing scholarships, medals and prizes, which were framed when the SSC/HSSC examinations were conducted as a whole, require review in light of the present examination structure.
Under the rules for award of scholarships, medals and prizes framed during the 1990s, it was provided that:
“All awards shall be made on the result of an annual examination only. Only those candidates shall be entitled to an award who take and pass the annual examination as a whole at one and the same sitting and also within two years after the registration in the Board.”
BISE Kohat is of the opinion that, following the bifurcation of SSC/HSSC into Part-I and Part II, the above provision may no longer be fully applicable in its original context. SSC/HSSC Part-I does not independently qualify a candidate for award of the SSC/HSSC certificate unless Part-II is also successfully completed. Therefore, Part-I and Part-II collectively constitute the SSC/HSSC qualification.
In this context, BISE Kohat has proposed that a candidate who improves his/her marks in either Part-I or Part-II within the prescribed two-year period and before completion of the SSC qualification should not be disqualified from consideration for any scholarship, medal, prize, or other academic award merely on account of having availed the improvement opportunity. The candidate's eligibility may instead be determined on the basis of the final consolidated SSC result, subject to fulfillment of the prescribed criteria for the respective award.
The proposal seeks to ensure that the rules governing academic awards remain aligned with the existing structure of the SSC examination and that students are not disadvantaged for improving their academic performance within the prescribed regulatory period.
WHAT IS REQUIRED
The public in Kohat Division and elsewhere, particularly academicia, may comment on:
1. The proposal by BISE Kohat regarding the eligibility of candidates for scholarships, medals, prizes, and other academic awards in cases of improvement of marks in SSC/HSSC.
2. The review of existing rules governing academic awards in light of the bifurcation of SSC/HSSC into Part-I and Part-II.
3. Allowing candidates who improve their marks within the prescribed two-year period to remain eligible for scholarships, medals, prizes, and other academic awards, provided they fulfill all other prescribed criteria.
4. Determining eligibility for such awards on the basis of the candidate's final consolidated SSC result, rather than treating improvement in either Part-I or Part-II as a disqualification.
The public feedback on this important matter will be of great help in the review of existing policy in line with changed circumstances.
