Rawalpindi DEA acts against 160 schools over poor Class 9 results

The District Education Authority (DEA) Rawalpindi has issued show-cause notices to teachers and principals of 160 schools after the 2026 Class 9 examinations showed pass rates of around 20 percent, ProPakistani reported on 22 September. Forty of those schools produced no successful candidate, and their teachers have been suspended under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act. Show-cause notices typically require recipients to explain in writing why disciplinary action should not be taken.

The action follows the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi result announcement, in which the overall pass rate was 37.56 percent. A total of 121,739 candidates appeared in the examination; 45,724 passed and 76,015 failed, according to ProPakistani. That means nearly 62 percent of candidates were unsuccessful.

DEA Chief Executive Officer Yaseen Khan Baloch said the 160 schools facing notices recorded pass rates of about 20 percent, while 40 schools failed to produce a single successful candidate. He said action had been taken against ninth-grade in-charges and school principals, and teachers from the 40 zero-result schools had been suspended under PEEDA. Baloch did not specify how many staff members were affected.

The authority has also started teacher training sessions to improve students' preparation for future ninth-grade examinations, Baloch said. Assistant commissioners have been assigned by the deputy commissioner to monitor schools, with special attention being given to ninth and tenth grade students.

Baloch said he visited 10 schools during the previous two days to review teaching standards and check whether students were being taught properly. The training sessions, he added, began after the start of the new academic session in government schools.

Dawn also carried the development through Ua.News without adding further figures, according to a Google News listing.