LAHORE: Public schools have outperformed their private counterparts in the 2024 matriculation examinations across Punjab.

A total of 1.2 million students appeared for the annual examination, with 929,238 passing, yielding a pass percentage of 75.88.

In detail, 655,867 regular candidates from public schools participated in the science group, and 101,249 in the humanities group, compared to 163,203 candidates in science and 37,648 in the humanities group from private schools.

Among regular candidates in the science group, there were 314,173 boys and 341,694 girls. Public school students in this group had pass rate of 82.16pc, with boys achieving 78.47pc and girls outperforming with 87.67pc.

Private school candidates in the science group included 76,303 boys and 86,900 girls. The pass rate for private school students was 68.47pc, with boys at 57.98pc and girls at 78.96pc.

In the humanities group, 15,609 boys and 85,640 girls from public schools took the exam. The pass rate for public school students was 67.89pc, with boys at 55.98pc and girls at 73.81pc. Private schools had 12,754 boys and 24,894 girls in the humanities group, with a pass rate of 47.96pc, boys achieving 38.54% and girls 57.38pc.

Performance varied significantly across educational boards. In Bahawalpur, 95,240 students appeared, with 71,892 passing (75.49pc); in Dera Ghazi Khan, 93,228 students appeared, with 76,805 passing (82.38pc); in Faisalabad, 146,661 students appeared, with 122,813 passing (83.74pc); in Gujranwala, 223,927 students appeared, with 168,118 passing (75.08pc); in Lahore, 250,227 students appeared, with 174,537 passing (69.75pc); in Multan, 125,896 students appeared, with 98,955 passing (78.60pc); in Rawalpindi, 119,265 students appeared, with 87,639 passing (73.48pc); in Sahiwal, 73,159 students appeared, with 53,206 passing (72.73pc); and in Sargodha, 96,993 students appeared, with 75,273 passing (77.61pc).

A spokesperson for the Punjab School Education Department (SED) stated that the results highlight a significant achievement for public schools, demonstrating their capability to deliver quality education and produce better academic outcomes compared to private institutions.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2024