ISLAMABAD:
Executive Director of the Inter Board Coordination Commission (IBCC) Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah has announced that Pakistani intermediate certificates will soon be directly accepted for admissions in foreign educational institutions.
Speaking to The Express Tribune in an exclusive interview, he revealed several reforms aimed at digitising the certification and verification process.
Dr Mallah confirmed that IBCC was in active consultation with the UK’s ECCTIS to have Pakistani intermediate certificates recognised for direct university admissions in the UK, adding that progress was also being made with other countries and foreign boards.
“The goal of IBCC is to protect the integrity of educational qualifications in Pakistan,” he noted.
He said the longstanding requirement of sealed verification envelopes from various education boards has been abolished. All 29 education and technical boards in Pakistan have now initiated online verification systems.
He added that the online verification of religious seminary credentials will also begin soon.
To streamline paperwork and processing times, IBCC has launched an online application system for equivalence and attestation, through which certificates are now issued with QR-code-based authentication.
“In 2023, the Inter-Boards Committee of Chairman was transformed into the Inter-Board Coordination Commission through an Act of Parliament, giving it a new direction,” Dr Mallah said.
He said that IBCC now regulates foreign educational qualifications in Pakistan and has developed a regulatory framework for foreign boards, which are being registered through an active online portal.
“We assess foreign boards based on 15 well-defined criteria. Our goal is to ensure that only credible qualifications are recognised for equivalence in Pakistan,” he added.
Dr Mallah joined the IBCC as secretary on October 19, 2020, initially for a two-year contract, which was later extended by three years due to his performance. Under the Act, his current appointment is a permanent transfer, with his tenure now protected until retirement, following a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from his parent university.
Among the key digital reforms, automated verification portals have been launched for universities and institutions, enabling real-time updates via SMS and email notifications for every application submitted to the IBCC.
A central database for educational records is also being developed.
Public facilitation services such as social media support, a helpline, and customer care desks have been introduced to handle queries and complaints efficiently.
Dr Mallah said that one of his primary goals after taking charge was to strengthen the legal standing of the IBCC. He actively consulted with lawmakers, provincial boards, legal experts and education stakeholders to draft and advocate the IBCC Act, which now provides a robust framework for equivalence, attestation, and inter-board coordination.
“This legislation has significantly enhanced IBCC’s credibility and operational performance,” he noted.
He credited administrative reforms for improving the commission’s overall efficiency, introducing a performance review system for staff and enhancing inter-departmental coordination. The changes have improved service delivery and restored public trust in IBCC.
Major reforms under his leadership include introducing conceptual and practical assessment models to move beyond rote learning, launching a model assessment framework to standardise evaluation across all boards and implementing a new grading scheme aimed at reflecting real student performance and reducing societal pressure on students for higher marks.
Moreover, the “supplementary exam” label has also been replaced with a “second annual examination”, giving students two opportunities a year to improve their results.
Similarly, other reforms include proposing enhanced re-evaluation options for students, creating standardised academic calendars across all Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) and organising teacher training programmes to improve assessment standards.
