While Cambridge International students topped the list with an impressive 89% pass rate, a significant number of high-achieving students from interior Sindh boards—many of whom had A-1 grades—struggled to clear the 50% threshold. Federal Board candidates fared better with a 78.5% success rate, followed by Karachi Board students at 76.7%.

In stark contrast, over half the students from Hyderabad (53.3%), Sukkur (66.2%), Mirpurkhas (59.1%), Larkana (68.1%), and Nawabshah (55.2%) boards failed the test. The overall pass rate stood at 68.1%, with 6,398 students passing and 2,990 failing.

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Specifically, 406 failures out of 764 candidates, were witnessed by Hyderabad Board whereas, 219 out of 322 were seen in Larkana, 308 out of 522 were seen by Mirpurkhas saw, 144 out of 261 was reported by Nawabshah recorded, and Sukkur had 176 out of 266 students not meeting the passing criteria.

In comparison, a much lower failure rate of 23.4% based on its 1,387 was observed by Karachi Board non-passing candidates out of 5,951, and 55 failures among 257 test-takers were recorded by Federal Board.

The results highlight a concerning performance gap between students from different boards—underscoring the challenge that strong board-level grades do not always translate into competitive exam success, especially for students from rural and interior Sindh.

Deep concern has been voiced by critics over how so many A-1 Sindh Board toppers failed in the NED University entrance exam. They argue this exposes serious flaws in the provincial education system. Issues such as grade inflation, lack of conceptual learning, and outdated exam methods have been highlighted by the critics.

While Cambridge and Karachi Board students sailed through, a troubling pattern emerged among students from interior Sindh: high board grades but poor test performance. Unless the province addresses these educational inequities, many aspiring engineers may continue to struggle in competitive entry exams.