LAHORE – Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat announced cash prizes for Matric position holders, raising the award from Rs20,000 to Rs100,000, alongside free laptops for successful students.
The announcement came as the minister officially released the 2026 Matric annual examination results for all educational boards across Punjab simultaneously by pressing a button, marking what the government described as another step towards a fully digital examination system.
Rana Sikandar Hayat said that, for the first time, all Punjab educational boards announced their Matric results at the same time, while ensuring complete transparency in line with the vision of the Punjab chief minister. Minister revealed that Matric position holders will now receive Rs100,000 in cash instead of the previous Rs20,000. He also confirmed that successful students will be provided laptops in addition to the enhanced cash awards. 2026 Matric results were prepared using modern technology for the first time, allowing students to receive verified online result cards instead of relying on traditional hard-copy documents.
He added that private school students will also be able to download authenticated result cards directly through their institutions’ online portals, eliminating the need for separate verification.
Sikandar said Punjab is rapidly moving all educational boards towards a fully digital system. From next year, complete screen marking will be introduced to improve the quality and transparency of paper checking. He further announced that the centralised paper-checking process would become even more transparent, while students would eventually be able to review their own examination papers through QR codes.
The education minister also claimed that no complaints regarding the sale of examination centres were received this year, adding that 95 percent of the cheating mafia has been eliminated across Punjab.
He further said that admissions to public universities are also witnessing a significant increase, reflecting growing confidence in the province’s education system.
