Only one student in the village of Punjab Education Minister was declared passed,when the results of the annual examinations of the ninth grade were announced across Punjab, this have brought to light a bitter reality in the education sector.
Out of about 380,000 candidates in the province, only 45 per cent succeeded while 55 per cent failed. Interestingly, the situation was also extremely disappointing in Gulzar Jagir, the native village of Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, where 18 students took the exam but only one passed.
These results not only reveal the shortcomings of the education system but also make the accountability process initiated by the Education Minister interesting, which he has announced to start from his own area.
The results data show that girls performed better than boys. The success rate of girls was 58 per cent, while the pass rate of boys was 35 per cent. The overall pass rate in the Lahore Board results was recorded at 45.08 per cent, which is similar to the figures released at the provincial level.
The pass rate in the Faisalabad Board was 51.55 per cent, while the same situation was seen in other boards as well. The results were released on August 20, 2025, which indicates the urgent need for reforms in the education sector.
Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, who is currently on a visit to the United States, issued a strong statement while sharing the analysis of the results on his social media account.
He said, “For the first time, the School Education Department is conducting a complete analysis of the results of Grades 9 and 10. We have schools shortlisted with terrible results year after year, costing billions of Punjab rupees with almost zero output.
We will ensure that they are removed from service as punishment. This is the initial work of my team for the underperforming schools of grade nine of the tehsil Pattoki, in the results a few days ago. I will start holding schools accountable from my own hometown and the tehsil Pattoki.’
Rana Sikandar Hayat added in the note that lists of performing teachers and schools are also being prepared, and they will be rewarded. The statement comes at a time when the education minister’s own native village, Gulzar Jagir, located in the tehsil Pattoki, is in the news for poor results. Out of 18 students who appeared for the exam in the village, only one passed.
A local journalist, without mentioning his name, said that he belongs to Rana Sikandar Hayat’s NA-183 Phool Nagar constituency. He said, “The results of schools in the entire constituency of the Education Minister are very poor.
His native village is 22 Kilometres away from the city where only one child has passed. This situation is not only disappointing but also raises the question of what the state of education in the remote areas of the province must be if this is the case in the Minister’s own area.”
After the school examination results and the statements of the Education Minister, there has also been an uproar on social media. While the failure rate is high, the promise of accountability and rewards is a ray of hope.
The Punjab government claims that this analysis will help improve the quality of education, but the question is whether it will remain limited to statements or bring about real change.
