A parliamentary subcommittee has instructed that all foreign examination boards operating in Pakistan must fall under the regulatory oversight of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC).
The directive was issued during a meeting of the subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Federal Education, held at the IBCC headquarters. Chaired by MNA Sabheen Ghoury, the session primarily addressed the recent leak of Cambridge O and A Level examination papers.
Committee members voiced serious concerns over the breach, which involved question papers from Cambridge Assessment International Education (CIE). A representative from CIE informed the committee that three papers were partially leaked. To compensate affected candidates, students will either be awarded grades based on Cambridge’s special consideration policy or offered the option to retake the papers in November 2025 without paying any additional fees.
The committee further recommended that any future incidents of paper leaks must be independently investigated by a third-party body. Discussions also touched on the taxation status of foreign exam boards. The British Council clarified that CIE exams in Pakistan are administered under a broader government-to-government framework.
Dr. Ghulam Ali Mallah, Executive Director of IBCC, stated that a meeting of all international boards will be convened soon to establish a unified policy and operational structure. He emphasized that IBCC’s mandate includes standardizing academic assessment and fostering national and international cooperation. “Invitations for the upcoming meeting have already been dispatched to the relevant boards,” he confirmed.
Meanwhile, Cambridge University issued an update on June 30 regarding the leak. The announcement confirmed that the three compromised papers included Cambridge International AS & A Level Mathematics Papers 12 and 42, and Computer Science Paper 22. While results for these subjects will be published as scheduled, students who sat these papers may opt for free resits in the November 2025 exam series. Cambridge stated that additional details on how to register for resits will be provided to schools after the June 2025 results are announced. Private candidates will be guided by the British Council on resit registration procedures.
