Boards of intermediate and secondary education are government bodies responsible for designing curriculum and conducting exams in the areas of a province which are under their responsibility. The history of these boards has its roots in the British subcontinent when examination boards were established in Calcutta and Uttar Pradesh. These were only responsible for conducting exams of matriculation, as intermediate was considered as a part of university education. When Pakistan was made, the first board was established in Karachi in 1950 with the same pattern as that of the British era. However, in 1959, due to the burden on the universities, intermediate exams were made a responsibility of the examination boards leading to the development of Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) all over the country.

Currently, there are 28 government boards operating in Pakistan which were created between 1950 to 2012.

The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) was established in 1975. Students can opt this board not only from Islamabad Capital Territory but also from other provinces of the country. The Federal Board also conducts examinations of Pakistani students living in foreign countries.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir established its board in 1973 currently called as AJK board.  In Punjab, the first board established was Lahore Board in 1954. Currently there are 9 boards working in Punjab namely Lahore Board, Gujranwala Board, Faisalabad Board, Sahiwal Board, Dera Ghazi Khan Board, Rawalpindi Board, Multan Board, Bahawalpur Board and Sargodha Board.

In Sindh, the first examination board was established in 1950 as the Karachi board. At present, there are a total of 6 boards in Sindh including BSEK Karachi, BIEK Karachi, Sukkur Board, Hyderabad Board, Larkana Board and Mirpurkhas Board.

The province of KPK established its first board in 1961 as Peshawar Board. Now there are 8 boards in KPK which conduct matric and intermediate exams. These are Peshawar Board, Bannu Board, Mardan Board, Dera Ismail Khan Board, Abbottabad Board, Malakand Board, Kohat Board and Swat Board.

In Balochistan, the first board created was the Quetta Board in 1979. There is a total of 3 boards operating in the province of Balochistan namely Quetta Board, Zhob Board and Turbat Board.