Schools in Pakistan Explained: Matric, O and A Level, Cambridge, and the Top Schools in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad

Quick Answer: Pakistani schools run on parallel systems: the board route (Matric after Class 10, Intermediate after Class 12, examined by FBISE and the provincial BISEs), Cambridge O and A Levels, the Aga Khan University Examination Board, and a small IB sector of 33 authorised schools. The IBCC converts O Level to Matric and A Level to Intermediate on a fixed grade-to-marks scale, and every route can lead to MDCAT and ECAT. Here is how they compare, with the only 2026/27 fees the top schools actually publish.

Pakistan runs four secondary school systems side by side. The board route gives Matric (the Secondary School Certificate, SSC) after Classes 9 and 10 and Intermediate (HSSC) after Classes 11 and 12, examined by the Federal Board (FBISE) or a provincial Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. The Cambridge route gives O Levels, then A Levels. The Aga Khan University Examination Board sets its own SSC and HSSC on the national curriculum. The IB is offered by 33 authorised schools. All four lead to the same university entry tests once the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) has converted foreign grades into Pakistani marks. Browse schools on our Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad pages.

How do Matric and Intermediate work?

FBISE was set up under the FBISE Act 1975 under the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training; it affiliates schools in Pakistan and abroad, prescribes SSC and HSSC courses and holds the exams. Since the Inclusive Scheme of Studies 2024, put into effect by FBISE on 27 March 2025, both SSC and HSSC are worth 1,200 marks. Students take compulsory subjects plus two electives from one group at Classes 9 and 10 and three from one group at Classes 11 and 12 (Medical, Engineering, Humanities and others).

Two 2026 changes matter. On 10 August 2026 FBISE ruled that the 2006 curriculum (1,100 marks) ends with the Second Annual Examination 2027, after which every paper follows the National Curriculum of Pakistan 2022-23. And from the Second Annual Examination 2026 the five core science subjects (Part I first) move to a 50% MCQ, 50% descriptive paper. FBISE charged Rs 2,500 per SSC part for the 2026 first annual exam.

How do O and A Levels convert to Matric and Intermediate?

Cambridge O Level is a qualification for 14 to 16 year olds, graded like IGCSE, with more than 40 subjects including Urdu papers for Pakistani centres; A Level offers 55 subjects. Neither is Pakistani, so the IBCC issues an equivalence. For SSC, a candidate examined in Pakistan needs eight O Levels, English, Mathematics, Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies plus three electives, all at grade E or above; from abroad, five including English and Mathematics. The Science group requires Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Computer Science or ICT. For HSSC, three A Levels at E or above are added, matched to the group: Physics, Chemistry and Biology for Pre-Medical, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for Pre-Engineering.

The conversion scale maps A* to above 90 (set each session by subject, 93 or 94 for 2026), A to 85, B to 75, C to 65, D to 55 and E to 45; F and G do not count. IBCC's worked example adds eight O Levels and three A Levels at A* to 1,030 out of 1,100. Pakistani students who studied abroad and dual nationals are exempt from Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies.

Where do AKU-EB and the IB fit?

The Aga Khan University Examination Board, established in 2002 under Ordinance CXIV, is Pakistan's first private university-led board. It examines SSC and HSSC on the national curriculum in English or Urdu, with five compulsory and three elective subjects at SSC and four plus three at HSSC; it reports 50,000 graduates in 20 years and trains teachers from 220 schools a year. Aga Khan Higher Secondary School Karachi is its best-known school. The IB is small, authorised in Pakistan since 1996; the IBCC treats MYP (ages 11 to 16) as SSC and the Diploma (16 to 19) as HSSC, though not IB course certificates, and Pakistani candidates must still pass Urdu, Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies. International School of Islamabad offers the Diploma; Headstart calls itself an IB World Continuum School.

Which networks run the top schools, and what do they charge?

System	Exams	Classes / ages	Who runs it	Published 2026/27 fees
Matric and Intermediate	SSC (Parts I and II), HSSC (Parts I and II), 1,200 marks each	Classes 9 to 10, 11 to 12	FBISE and provincial BISEs	FBISE exam fee Rs 2,500 per SSC part; Aitchison FSc tuition PKR 103,200 a month
AKU-EB	SSC and HSSC, plus primary and middle programmes	Grade 4 to 12	Aga Khan University Examination Board	Not published
Cambridge	O Level (or IGCSE), AS and A Level	O Level 14 to 16; A Level after O Level	Cambridge International; IBCC for equivalence	Aitchison PKR 74,500 to 90,200 a month; LGS 55 Main registration PKR 5,000; Beaconhouse, City School, KGS not published
IB	MYP, Diploma, Career-related Programme	MYP 11 to 16; DP 16 to 19	IB; 33 authorised schools	Not published

Beaconhouse began in Lahore in November 1975 as a Montessori with 19 children and now teaches around 400,000 students in six countries; see Beaconhouse Karachi. The City School, founded in Karachi in 1978, reports more than 500 schools and 150,000 students. Lahore Grammar School opened in 1979 at 55 Main Gulberg and added A Levels in 1995; LGS Gulberg publishes only a PKR 5,000 registration fee. Roots Millennium started in Rawalpindi in April 1988; Froebel's dates from 1975. Among single schools, Karachi Grammar School teaches on three sites without government grant, while Aitchison College, founded in 1886, teaches Cambridge with an FBISE Matric and FSc option in senior school and is the only one to publish a full 2026/27 fee schedule: PKR 74,500 a month in K1 to K5, PKR 90,200 in Classes 9 and 10, PKR 103,200 in the final two years (FSc and H classes), boarding PKR 78,900 to 94,200 a month, an admission fee of PKR 175,000 (government) or 350,000, and a refundable PKR 100,000 deposit. KGS, Beaconhouse, The City School, Headstart and Froebel's publish no fees; the Bay View, Nixor and Lyceum sites could not be opened. For other campuses see our Rawalpindi and Peshawar pages, and read how accreditation works before trusting an "international" label.

How do universities treat each route?

Medicine goes through MDCAT. PM&DC's 2025 regulations require a MDCAT pass, an HSSC or equivalent 12th grade qualification with at least 60% marks, and Biology and Chemistry with Physics or Mathematics; A Level candidates qualify through IBCC equivalence, and public college merit is weighted 50% MDCAT, 40% HSSC and 10% SSC. Engineering goes through ECAT, run by UET Lahore since 1999 and mandatory under Pakistan Engineering Council rules: a 100-minute Intermediate-level test of 10 English and 90 subject questions, open to A Level students on their Statement of Entry. Every route ends at the same tests; the choice is about teaching, cost and destination, not eligibility.