• Minister Rahu says the bill has been sent to the statute review body for review.
• Launches digital examination and e-grading system for Sindh boards
KARACHI: Despite serious reservations from teaching bodies, political parties and other stakeholders, the Sindh government is moving forward with its plan to separate the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) from the University of Karachi (KU), as Minister for Universities and Boards Ismail Rahu revealed that a bill on the matter has been sent to the Statute Inspection Committee.
The Charter Inspection and Evaluation Committee of the Sindh Higher Education Commission advises the government on proposals to grant a charter for awarding degrees in public and private sector institutions. However, the minister told reporters that teachers, staff, donors and all other stakeholders would be considered confidential before finalizing any steps.
He was speaking at a meeting of the Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC) at a local hotel to inaugurate Sindh’s new e-grading and digital assessment system on Tuesday.
Rahu said the government is not planning to “split KU” and added, on the contrary, that a bill has been sent to the said inspection committee to give ICCBS powers to award degrees independently.
It is worth mentioning that in recent weeks, teaching bodies, political parties and other stakeholders have expressed concerns over a government plan to separate ICCBS from KU. Professors and other stakeholders had argued that the move would be detrimental to the quality of research, besides hampering students’ access to ICCBS, as the institute could become very expensive if privatized.
Launch of e-marking system for Sindh boards of directors
On the occasion, Rahu also said that the federal government has handed over all e-grading softwares to the education boards of the Sindh government, marking the formal beginning of a new phase of exam digitization in the province.
The opening ceremony of the electronic marking and digitization project was held within the framework of COPI. The Secretary of Universities and Educational Boards, Muhammad Abbas Baloch, Faqeer Muhammad Lakho, as well as the chairmen of all the educational boards of the province and representatives of the federal boards, attended.
Rahu stated that the annual examinations for grades IX and XI in Sindh will now be conducted through e-grading, ensuring transparency, quality and timely results in the examination system.
He added that a system is being developed in which full transparency will be maintained from the preparation of the questionnaires to the completion of the exams, which will eliminate problems such as leakage of papers.
He further said that under the current traditional system, there are delays in the preparation of results, while thanks to electronic marking this stage will not only be faster but also error-free. He shared that some boards in Sindh have already started electronically marking certain documents on a limited basis.
Published in Amanecer, December 5, 2025.
