Conditions for Qualifying Matric & Intermediate Examinations 2026

This article is about the conditions for qualifying Matric & Intermediate examinations 2026 & onward, released by official educational boards. To ensure fairness, transparency, and uniform assessment, education boards in Pakistan follow defined rules for qualifying SSC (Matric), HSSC (Intermediate), and Diploma examinations. These rules explain how students pass subjects, how aggregate marks are calculated, how failures and compartments are handled, and when grace or hardship marks are awarded.

This article provides a complete and easy-to-understand explanation of examination qualifying conditions followed by most Pakistani boards.

1. Basic Requirement to Qualify for Matric & Intermediate Examinations 2026

To qualify an examination, a candidate must:

• Pass all subjects
• If a subject consists of two or three papers, the candidate must pass the subject on the aggregate of those papers

Passing is determined by overall subject performance, unless separate passing is mandatory.

2. Subjects with Practical Components

For subjects that include practicals:

• Theory and practical must be passed separately
• Failure in either component results in failure of the subject

This rule applies strictly at SSC, HSSC, and Diploma levels.

3. Minimum Qualifying Marks

SSC & HSSC (General Rule)

• Minimum qualifying marks: 33%
• 33% in theory and 33% in practical, separately

Diploma Courses (Special Rule)

For Diploma programs (e.g., Commerce, Office Management, DAE, Dress Designing):

• Theory component: Minimum 40%
• Practical/Training component:
  • 50% in sessional
  • 50% in final practical, separately

Additional provisions:

• If a candidate passes either theory or practical, reappearance is required only in the failed component
• If sessional practical is passed, it does not need to be repeated

4. Combination of Marks for Aggregate

SSC & HSSC

• Marks of Theory Paper-I and Paper-II are combined for aggregate calculation

Diploma Courses

• Theory-I marks are combined with Theory-II/III
• Paper-A and Paper-B (same subject, same part) are combined
• The same rule applies to practical examinations

5. When Marks Are NOT Combined

• If a candidate fails theory or practical, marks are not combined for aggregate
• Passing both components is mandatory for aggregate consideration

6. Failure in Aggregate or Individual Papers

• If a candidate fails to pass a subject on aggregate:
  • He/she is declared fail only in the paper(s) actually failed
• Subjects with different nomenclature in Diploma courses must be passed separately

7. Mandatory Appearance in All Papers

• Appearance in all papers of a subject is compulsory
• Result compilation is not possible if any paper is missed

8. Compartment & Reappearance Rules

SSC-II / HSSC-II

• Failure in more than two subjects:
  • Candidate must reappear as a fresh candidate in all subjects next year
• Failure in two or fewer subjects:
  • Candidate is placed under compartment
  • Allowed five subsequent attempts

Course/Syllabus Rule

• First two attempts: same syllabus
• Remaining three attempts: failed papers only, in the current course

9. Non-Appearance in Part-I Examination

• Regular or private candidates who miss Part-I due to valid reasons may:
  • Appear in Part-I only
  • Or appear in both parts together, if eligible

10. Grace Marks Policy

General Grace Marks

• Eligible candidates may receive up to 1% of total marks
• Applicable to:
  • Failed candidates
  • Additional subject candidates
• A star (*) is shown on the result card with explanation in footnote

One-Mark Grade Benefit

• One mark is granted if a candidate loses a higher grade by one mark

Improvement Cases

• No grace marks are allowed in improvement of marks/grade cases

11. Hardship Marks (Special Provision)

In cases of extreme hardship, the Chairman may allow:

• Up to 5 marks to relieve hardship

Conditions:

1. No double benefit (grace + hardship not allowed together)
2. Candidates losing better division or subject result by 1–5 marks may receive marks automatically through the system
3. Two stars ()** appear on the result card
4. No further claim after hardship marks are granted
5. Chairman’s decision is final

12. Terminology on Result Card

• The word “Retry” is used instead of “Fail” for failed candidates

13. Diploma Course Failure Rules

• Failure in any number of subjects:
  • Candidate is placed under compartment
  • Allowed to reappear in failed subjects only
  • Reappearance is allowed only in the current course

14. Improvement & Compartment – Better Marks Rule

• In improvement cases:
  • Better marks are awarded
• Same rule applies to compartment cases (theory/practical)
• If a candidate is absent, previous marks are retained

Important Note for Students

• Passing criteria depend on both aggregate and component-wise performance
• Grace and hardship marks are limited and conditional
• Students should carefully plan compartment and improvement attempts

Attention Students & Teachers

These examination qualifying rules are generally followed by education boards across Pakistan, including federal and provincial boards, with minor procedural variations.