For the first time, the Punjab School Education Department (SED) has implemented facial detection technology to prevent cheating in the 2025 matriculation exams.

On Monday, critical testing facilities on Raiwind Road were unexpectedly inspected by Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikandar Hayat and Task Force for Education Chairman Muzammil Mehmood.

Mr. Hayat and Mr. Mehmood visited to check the arrangements, get student input on the exam process, and use 3D bar-code technology to confirm the students' identities.

The supervisory staff's efforts to guarantee seamless operations at these centers were praised by the minister. Exam centers on Raiwind Road were infamous for their widespread use of cheating. The cheating mafia has been reduced by 90% thanks to our efforts, guaranteeing an unprecedented degree of exam transparency," Mr. Hayat stated.

He said that only two to three incidences of cheating have been reported this year, down from 15 to 20 cases every day the previous year.

The effort, according to the minister, is in line with the Punjab chief minister's goal of achieving 100% transparency in the examination system by the next year.

Special monitoring teams were sent to districts including Daska, Wazirabad, Gujranwala, and Lahore as part of the reforms.

The minister claimed that the department was working toward a fair and reliable test system by enacting exam improvements that had not been witnessed in the province in the previous 77 years.

BISE authorities, including Chairman Muzamil Mahmood and Secretary Rizwan Nazir, oversaw the initial introduction of QR-coded online roll number slips by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore, which further modernized the procedure.

By making personal data and slip verification easily accessible, the QR code technology greatly lowers the likelihood of fraud throughout the examination procedure.

It was a "major step forward" in maintaining the integrity of the examination, according to the secretary.

This year, 920 testing locations are hosting 568,854 applicants, he said, adding that an automated staff deployment mechanism is one of the improvements to stop malpractice and favoritism. "The new system assigns tasks to employees automatically, guaranteeing fairness and impartiality," he continued.

According to Zahid Mian, the Controller of Examinations, these technical developments were implemented to guarantee that every applicant will have a safe and effective exam experience.

The yearly written matriculation test will end on March 24 after beginning on March 4.