For decades, public examinations in Pakistan have remained wedded to manual processes—paper scripts, human examiners and time-consuming tabulation.

While this system has pro-duced generations of graduates, it has also attracted persistent criticism for delays, inconsis-tencies, human error and allegations of bias. In recent years, however, a quiet but significant shift has begun. The initiative of Intermediate and Secondary Education Boards to introduce electronic marking (e-assessment) represents an important transitional phase—one that may ultimately pave the way for AI-assisted assessment, a far more advanced, reliable and future-oriented model.

The move towards e-assessment, where examiners mark scanned answer scripts on digital platforms, is often presented as a technical upgrade. In reality, it is a structural reform with deep implications for transparency, efficiency and credibility. By digitizing scripts, boards have already reduced risks associated with physical handling, loss of papers and post-examination tampering. Time required for marking has shortened, examiner allocation has become more flexible and audit trails now exist where every mark can be traced back, re-viewed and verified.

Yet, e-assessment remains essentially human-centered. The examiner still interprets judges and awards marks. Technology merely acts as a conduit. Artificial Intelligence, on the other hand, has the potential to fundamentally transform........

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