Examination Regulations

These regulations govern every examination and assessment conducted by, or on behalf of, the Global Board of Technical & Professional Education. They apply to candidates enrolled through an affiliated institute and to candidates who registered directly with the Board.

The Board's qualifications are structured against the National Vocational Qualifications Framework. Where a programme is offered at a framework level, the level is stated on the course page and on the certificate.

These regulations take effect from the date shown above and apply to every examination held on or after that date. An examination already sat is governed by the regulations in force on the day it was sat.

A candidate may sit an examination only where the Board has approved their enrolment for that course and the registration fee has been received.

A candidate holds one registration number for life. It does not change when they take a further course. A separate roll number and, on completion, a separate certificate number are issued for each course.

Candidates presented through an affiliated institute may be presented only in the trades for which that institute holds affiliation.

A roll number is allotted when the Board publishes the examination, and not before. Two slips are issued for each course:

• one for the written examination
• one for the practical examination

The two examinations are held on different dates and, where the Board so decides, at different venues. Each slip carries its own roll number, date, time and venue. A candidate must read both.

Slips are delivered to the candidate's portal account and notified by email. A candidate must print the slip and bring it to the examination.

No candidate is admitted to an examination without both the printed roll number slip and their original CNIC or B-Form. A photocopy or a photograph of either is not accepted.

Every slip carries a QR code and may be verified online by anyone. If a cancelled or altered slip is presented, the Board's record is what stands.

Written examinations are held at centres appointed by the Board.

Practical examinations are held either at a registered assessment centre or at an affiliated institute. The Board decides which, for each examination, and the decision is recorded on the roll number slip. A candidate should attend the venue printed on their own slip and no other.

If an examination is cancelled after slips have been issued, the cancellation is shown against the candidate's roll number in their portal and on the verification page. Candidates must not travel to a cancelled examination.

Candidates must be seated before the start time shown on the slip. Admission after the paper has begun is at the discretion of the centre superintendent and is recorded.

The following may not be taken into the examination:

• mobile telephones and any device capable of storing or transmitting information
• notes, books or written material of any kind, unless the paper states otherwise
• any item the centre superintendent has prohibited in writing

A candidate must write their roll number on every answer sheet and must not write their name, or any mark by which they could be identified, anywhere on the answer material.

The Board uses two assessment methods. Which one applies is determined by the programme, and is stated on the course page before a candidate enrols.

MARKS-BASED EXAMINATION, used for conventional courses. The paper is marked out of a total which differs from course to course and is printed on the roll number slip and the date sheet. Grading is covered by Regulation 7.

COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENT, used for CBT&A programmes and for Recognition of Prior Learning. A candidate is judged Competent or Not Yet Competent against published criteria. There are no marks, no percentage and no grade. Every criterion marked critical must be met in full; strong performance in one area does not compensate for a criterion not met.

“Not Yet Competent” is a stage, not a verdict. A candidate so judged may be assessed again without repeating the training.

Written papers are delivered in one of two ways, and both use the same paper and the same question pattern:

• computer-based, taken on screen at the centre
• paper-based, on a printed bubble (OMR) answer sheet

Each question carries four options, of which exactly one is correct. On a bubble sheet, fill one bubble completely. More than one bubble filled for a question scores nothing for that question.

Candidates with a visual impairment, or with any other accessibility requirement approved by the Board, are examined on the same paper and receive reasonable accommodations approved by the Board. These may include additional time, a high-contrast or enlarged paper, a separate room, or assistance approved for that candidate.

Audio and text-to-speech assistance for computer-based papers is provided where it is technically available at the examination centre and has been approved for the candidate. A candidate requiring any accommodation must inform the Board when submitting the examination form, so that what is available can be confirmed and arranged before the day.

This regulation applies only to marks-based examinations. Competency-based assessment has no pass mark and no grade — see Regulation 6.3.

The total marks for a paper differ from course to course. The total is set by the Board for each examination and is printed on the date sheet and the roll number slip.

A candidate must obtain not less than 40% to pass. Because the total differs by course, the pass requirement is always expressed and calculated as a percentage.

Where a programme has separate Theory and Practical examinations, the 40% must be obtained in EACH of them separately, and in the aggregate. A high mark in one does not make up for a failure in the other:

• Theory 35 and Practical 70 gives an aggregate of 52.5%, and is a FAIL — theory is below 40%.
• Theory 45 and Practical 55 gives an aggregate of 50%, and is a PASS.

Results are graded on the following scale. F is a grade and is awarded; it is not the absence of one.

• A+ — 80% and above
• A — 70% to 79%
• B — 60% to 69%
• C — 50% to 59%
• D — 40% to 49%
• F — below 40%

A particular programme may be examined under a different scale or a different pass requirement where its approved scheme of study prescribes one. Where that is so, the scale in force is printed on the result and on the certificate, and it is the scale under which the candidate was examined that applies — not any later revision of it.

A candidate recorded as absent is not assessed. Absence is not a fail and produces no marks and no percentage; the paper counts as not passed and must be sat again.

RPL is for candidates who already hold the skill and seek to have it certified without repeating training. There is no written paper in RPL.

Evidence is scored out of 100 by a Board committee, on five criteria:

• Qualification — 20 marks
• Work experience — 10 marks
• Portfolio: employer reference letters and work samples — 20 marks
• Technical interview — 10 marks
• Two practical tests — 40 marks

A candidate scoring 70 or more out of 100 is declared eligible for the Final Assessment. This threshold is a condition of eligibility and is separate from, and higher than, the 40% pass mark in Regulation 7.3, which does not apply to RPL.

The Final Assessment itself is competency-based. The outcome is Competent or Not Yet Competent, and the certificate issued is a Certificate of Competency, which carries no grade.

The scoring sheet is signed by the head of the committee and a co-opted member. A candidate who disputes the outcome is given the committee's written remarks in full.

The following constitute unfair means:

• possession or use of any prohibited material or device
• communicating with another candidate during the examination
• impersonation, or permitting another person to sit in your place
• altering, or attempting to alter, a roll number slip, answer sheet, result or certificate
• refusing a lawful instruction of the centre superintendent

A case of unfair means is reported by the superintendent and decided by the Board, not at the centre. The candidate is told what is alleged and is given an opportunity to reply before a decision is taken.

Where a case is established the Board may cancel the paper, cancel the result for the course, or debar the candidate for a stated period. Impersonation is referred for cancellation of the registration.

Results are declared by the Board and published on its website. A result is not official until it appears there, whatever a centre or institute may have said.

A result is declared as one of three outcomes:

• PASS — every compulsory paper and component passed, and the required aggregate obtained.
• RE-APPEAR — one or more papers failed, to be sat again under Regulation 11.2A. The passed papers stand.
• FAIL — the examination is repeated in full.

Where the Board's published record and any document held by a candidate differ, the Board's record is what stands, and the candidate should report the difference.

RE-CHECKING is an arithmetical and clerical check: that every question was marked, that the marks were added correctly, and that the total was carried over correctly. A paper is not marked again and no answer is re-assessed.

RE-EXAMINATION is sitting the paper again at a subsequent examination. A candidate judged Not Yet Competent may be assessed again without repeating the training.

RE-APPEAR. A candidate who fails one or more papers, but not the whole examination, sits ONLY the papers they failed. Papers already passed are carried forward and are not taken again. Where a paper is sat again, the better of the two marks stands.

• Failed one theory paper — re-appear in that paper only.
• Failed one practical — re-appear in that practical only.
• Passed everything — nothing to re-appear in.

The Board may limit how many papers a candidate may carry to a re-appear, and how many attempts are permitted at one paper. Where a candidate exceeds the limit in force for their programme, the examination is repeated in full rather than paper by paper. Any limit is notified with the result.

Both are applied for on the Board's form and are chargeable. The re-checking fee is Rs. 1,500 per paper. The re-examination fee is Rs. 3,700 per paper and is charged at the same rate for a paper sat again on re-appear under 11.2A — one fee covers both routes. The fee is paid by bank challan issued by the Board. An application for re-checking must reach the Board within 15 calendar days, and an application for re-examination within 90 calendar days, of the date the result is published. Where a different closing date is fixed for a particular examination, it is notified with the result and that date applies.

Examination and certificate fees are NOT refundable. This includes a candidate who does not appear, whose result is withheld, or whose enrolment is cancelled after the fee has been received.

Where a re-check shows that the Board made an error, the corrected result is issued and the re-checking fee for that candidate is refunded.

A candidate who believes a decision of the Board about their examination is wrong may appeal to the Board's Appeal Committee.

An appeal must be made on the Board's appeal form and must be accompanied by:

• a copy of the candidate's CNIC or B-Form
• an affidavit declaring that the contents of the appeal are true
• any supporting documents relied upon
• the challan receipt for the processing fee

The appeal must state plainly what is being appealed and what remedy is sought. It may be written in English or Urdu.

The Committee's decision is communicated in writing, with reasons. The Board does not consider an appeal against the academic judgement of an assessor, only against the process by which a decision was reached.

A Certificate of Completion is issued for a course passed under Regulation 7. A Certificate of Competency is issued for a competency-based assessment, including RPL, and carries no grade.

Every certificate carries a unique certificate number and a QR code, and may be verified free of charge by anyone, at any time, on the Board's website.

A certificate remains verifiable after it has been superseded or withdrawn, and the verification page says which. The Board does not remove a record in order to hide it.

A duplicate certificate, or the correction of an entry, is applied for on the Board's form and is chargeable by challan. A correction to a name or date of birth is made only against the original CNIC or B-Form.

The Board may amend these regulations. An amendment is published on this page with a new reference and effective date, and does not apply to an examination already sat.

Where the English and Urdu texts of these regulations differ, the English text prevails.