In a policy shift, the Punjab government has announced the removal of the date-of-birth-based tie-breaker system in board examinations, aiming to ensure parity for students with identical academic scores. The decision follows direct feedback provided by a girl student to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during the state's felicitation event, 'Sitare Zameen Te'.
State Education Minister Harjot Bains confirmed the development, stating that, moving forward, all students who secure equal marks will be awarded the same rank. This move is intended to eliminate the perceived unfairness of the previous system, which prioritised chronological age over academic performance in cases of ties.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the Punjab government has announced:
"Scrapping the Punjab School Education Board's (PSEB) evaluation system, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government has decided that students securing identical marks in board examinations will henceforth be awarded the same rank, abolishing the long-standing practice of using date of birth as a tie-breaker."
"The decision stems from a state-level felicitation function "Sitare Zameen Te" held on May 31, 2026, where Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann honoured district toppers of Classes 8th, 10th and 12th," the social media post on X added.
According to the previous policy, the youngest among the three students used to get the first rank in the top three positions if their marks in a board exam are identical. "We came from Amritsar and we are studying in the same class. We have been declared first, second and third on the basis of age. We do the same amount of hard work," the girl questioned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during the felicitation ceremony.
To this, Mann said, "For us, three of you hold the first position."
The student then said only the student who held the first rank was called to the stage.
AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was also present at the event, said he was so happy to note that a student tells the chief minister, "your system is wrong".
According to a report by the Asian News International (ANI), beyond the structural changes to ranking, Bains emphasised a broader transformation in the examination framework. He noted that board question papers would undergo a paradigm shift, moving away from rote learning.
Future assessments are designed to prioritise competency-based questions that test a student's conceptual understanding and analytical abilities rather than their ability to memorise information, the report added.
Punjab has recently emerged as one of the country's top-performing states in school education, with the NITI Aayog Education Quality Report 2026 placing the state ahead of Keralam on several key foundational learning indicators, the ANI reported.
Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains termed the development as the beginning of "Punjab's Era" in education, crediting the transformation to systemic reforms, improved infrastructure and the dedication of teachers, students and parents.
He said the success was the result of consistent policy implementation and collective efforts to strengthen government schools across the state. According to the report, Punjab recorded 82 per cent proficiency in language and 78 per cent in mathematics among Class 3 students, surpassing Kerala's 75 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively. In Class 9 mathematics, Punjab secured 52 per cent compared to Kerala's 45 per cent.