HEC Assesses 33,000+ IT Students Across Pakistan in First National Skills Benchmark; Check Results

The Higher Education Commission has released the results of the National Skills Competency Test 2026, marking Pakistan’s first nationwide benchmark to assess the capabilities of university students in key IT and computer science domains.

The test was conducted on April 4 and 5, 2026, with more than 40,000 students registered and over 33,000 IT students assessed from 188 universities across Pakistan.

According to HEC, the assessment provides the first national-level picture of how well students are performing in critical CS and IT areas. The results are expected to help universities, policymakers, and industry stakeholders identify strengths, gaps, and future training needs in Pakistan’s technology education sector.

The findings show that students performed comparatively better in Web Development Basics, which recorded the highest proficiency score at 54.1%. Other stronger areas included AI and Machine Learning at 50.8%, Software Engineering at 50.1%, Problem Solving and Analytics at 49.1%, and Programming at 47.8%.

However, the test also highlighted several areas requiring improvement. These included cybersecurity at 47.2%, database systems at 42.3%, data structures and algorithms at 40.2%, computer networks and cloud computing at 39.6%, and operating systems at 33.8%.

The provincial and regional results showed that Islamabad Capital Territory led with a pass rate of 52.9%. Sindh followed with 42.0%, while Punjab recorded 39.4%. Gilgit-Baltistan posted a pass rate of 32.6%, followed by Azad Jammu and Kashmir at 31.0%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 30.2%, and Balochistan at 29.0%.

The results point to both progress and challenges in Pakistan’s IT education landscape. While students appear to be developing reasonable strength in web development, AI, machine learning, and software engineering, the lower scores in cybersecurity, networks, cloud computing, and operating systems suggest the need for deeper technical training and more industry-aligned curricula.

The NSCT 2026 is expected to support future academic planning, university rankings, and skills-development initiatives. It may also help identify where universities need to improve lab work, practical learning, faculty training, and industry linkages.

HEC has advised students, universities, and stakeholders to check the detailed NSCT 2026 results, rankings, and future initiatives through the official portal at:

NSCT-Result

The national benchmark comes at a time when Pakistan is working to strengthen its digital economy, increase IT exports, and prepare a more competitive technology workforce for local and global markets.

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