ISLAMABAD: The Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) has approved allowing students who complete matriculation in the arts group to seek admission in pre-medical and pre-engineering streams.
The decision was taken during the IBCC forum’s 183rd meeting and will be implemented from the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) annual examinations 2026, according to a notification issued on Friday.
Under the revised policy, students who have passed SSC examinations in the arts group will be eligible to enrol in Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) pre-medical and pre-engineering programmes. The IBCC has directed all educational boards across the country to strictly enforce the new policy.
However, the commission clarified that individual colleges and institutions will retain the authority to set minimum marks and merit criteria for admissions in the respective groups.
The policy change comes nearly two months after the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) introduced a revised grading system for SSC and HSSC examinations.
According to the FBISE, the new grading scheme will be implemented from the first annual examinations 2026 for SSC-I and HSSC-I, and from 2027 for SSC-II and HSSC-II.
Under the revised system, students securing 96% to 100% marks will be awarded an A++ grade (Extraordinary), while those obtaining 91% to 95% will receive an A+ grade (Exceptional). Marks between 86% and 90% will correspond to an A grade (Outstanding).
Students scoring 81% to 85% will be awarded B++ (Excellent), while 76% to 80% will fall under B+ (Very Good). Those securing 71% to 75% will receive a B grade (Good).
Similarly, students achieving 61% to 70% will be given a C+ grade (Fairly Good), while 51% to 60% will correspond to a C grade (Above Average). Candidates scoring 40% to 50% will receive a D grade (Emerging), whereas those scoring below 40% will be marked as Ungraded.
