Aga Khan Examination Board honours 124 top students at ceremony

KARACHI: The Aga Khan University Examination Board held a ceremony titled “Inner Light” in honour of students who performed outstandingly in 2026. Awards were given to 124 national and regional top performers from across the country.

They included two national position holders at the secondary and higher secondary levels. More than 450 students were also praised for outstanding performance in individual subjects.

The ceremony was held as the board moves towards its silver jubilee in 2027. Next year, the board will complete 25 years of improving educational standards, strengthening the examination system and expanding higher education opportunities for students across the country. More than 26,000 students took the board’s examinations this year.

The ceremony was attended by donors, teachers, parents and students. Among those present were the board’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Naveed Yousuf; chief guest Prof Dr Huma Baqai, Rector of the Millennium Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship; and guest of honour Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah, Chief Executive Officer of the Inter Boards Coordination Commission.

Views of guests and students

Prof Dr Huma Baqai said the top-performing students deserved praise not only for their academic achievements but also for the skills they had gained for success in life beyond school. She said these young people were ready for the next stage of their education and could effectively face future opportunities and challenges.

Hafsa Bugti, a national position holder at the higher secondary level from the IBA Community College Khairpur, said interior Sindh had countless talented young people. She said better access to quality educational institutions and an examination system that maintained high standards could play an important part in bringing out their abilities, increasing merit-based opportunities and enabling them to compete confidently at the global level.

Board figures

According to the board’s annual survey on university admissions, 90 per cent of its higher secondary graduates gain admission to universities. The board’s graduates have reached more than 200 international universities, while about half are studying at leading higher education institutions in Pakistan.

In 2026 alone, the board provided 540 merit-based and need-based scholarships across the country, helping students to obtain quality education.

Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah said the Aga Khan University Examination Board was counted among the credible examination bodies in Pakistan and abroad and was committed to standards-based assessment. He said the examination system could play an important part in improving education, because the skills valued in examinations influence the way of teaching and learning.

He said the real importance of an examination board lay not in the number of candidates but in the standard, reliability and educational value of its assessment. By giving priority to understanding of concepts, critical thinking and practical application of knowledge over rote learning, he said, the board was setting an example for the country’s education system to follow.

The Aga Khan University founded the board in 2002. Its approach focuses on promoting understanding of concepts, critical thinking and practical application of knowledge rather than rote learning, so that students are better prepared for higher education and the challenges of practical life.

Dr Naveed Yousuf said that, alongside celebrating students’ achievements, it was also necessary to widen access to quality education and enable young people to play a meaningful role in society. He said the students’ achievements were a source of pride and showed that purposeful education and proper development of abilities could open new paths of progress for young people.