Shaheed Benazirabad (SBA) division, along with Sukkur and Larkana divisions, had adopted e-marking for the results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Part One and High School Certificate (HSC) Part One, which were announced on Tuesday. Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Shaheed Benazirabad (BISESBA) Chairman Dr Asif Ali Memon stated that the e-marking system was a major achievement.
However, the results, like the election outcomes in the country, did not sit well with the students. Students from various districts of Shaheed Benazirabad took to the streets to protest the automated results, which involved minimal human interaction.
In Sanghar, students from Pir Syed Sabghatullah Shah Shaheed Government Degree College boycotted classes and marched onto the streets. Protesters, including Abdul Jabbar Mari, Abdul Rahman Laghari, Siraj Wassan, Farhan Laghari, Sarfraz Bugti, Latif Bugti, Arsalan Jatt, Ammar Lander, Abdul Hameed Bugti, and Ayan Ali Jatt, said they were regular students who had performed well in college tests and written strong answers in exams.
They told the media that despite their performance, the board’s incompetence had ruined their future. With the marks awarded to them, they claimed they would not be able to secure admission to any university. The students said the board was experimenting at their expense.
The students alleged that corruption was rampant within the board and that the administration had turned bribery into a business. They rejected the results and demanded the immediate removal of the chairman and controller, as well as rechecking of the papers.
Similar protests erupted in Shahdadpur district, where students from Govt Boys Degree College, led by Nasir Khuso, Younus Sanjrani, and Roshan Khaskheli, gathered outside the press club. They shouted slogans against the board and rejected the results, alleging large-scale tampering. Protesters claimed even meritorious students had been failed by being awarded low marks.
In Sakrand, hundreds of students expressed anger after the annual results were announced. Ninth and eleventh graders said the marks awarded in several papers were far below expectations, threatening to waste an entire academic year. Students from Govt Degree College Sakrand marched from their campus to Sahafi Chowk, chanting slogans and demanding transparency and rechecking.
At Govt Boys Higher Secondary School Campus, Panhal Khan Chandio, students and teachers also joined the demonstrations. A rally was held from the school to the MPA House in Panhal Khan Chandio village. Protesters demanded that the board chairman personally intervene, order rechecking of papers, and investigate the entire marking system to redress alleged injustices.
The protests continued for several hours, drawing support from civil society and educationists, who termed the students’ demands legitimate and urged immediate reforms in the board’s checking process.
In Shahpur Chakar, students staged a rally from their college to the local press club, raising slogans against the board. They accused the administration of deliberately awarding low marks to block their access to higher education. “The board has committed a grave injustice. By giving us fewer marks, they have conspired to shut the doors of higher education,” the students said.
Protesters appealed to the Sindh chief minister, education minister, and senior officials to order the rechecking of all answer scripts and ensure transparency in the evaluation system.