As the University of Karachi converts to the grade point average (GPA) system of grading that has replaced the percentile or division one, many students find themselves failing.
This is because the bar of minimum marks required to pass has been raised from 38 per cent to 50 per cent. Students who scored the same as last year have, as a result, failed. According to the new system, in order to graduate with a degree students are supposed to score at least 63 per cent or a 2.2 cumulative or final GPA at the end of four years.
A chemistry student, Nimra Naveed, said that, “in my class alone, in 2008, there were only 30 out of 70 students who were promoted to the third year as the rest could not meet the required passing percentage”.
The teachers are also struggling to learn the new grading system — some continue to give low marks as before. Most students claim that a teacher gives an average of 65 to 70 marks, and only very few students receive anything above 75.
A mass communication student, Mariam, said that even though Urdu and English graduates study separately in her department, the teachers continue to mark differently. English teachers give more marks for the sake of their students’ GPA while the Urdu ones give low marks according to the old style.
Khalid, an economics student, said that he faced a lot of problems when his grades were converted into GPA, which emerged as very low given the percentage he scored.
Prof. Abid Hasnain of the Karachi University Teachers Society agreed that many teachers do not know the procedure. He assured, however, that the next range of marks would be given under the new system. “It will take some time till they adapt to it,” he said, agreeing that students will be affected in the meanwhile.
Faculty of Sciences Dean Prof Dr Darakhshan Haleem suggested that in order to tackle the percentage and low GPA issue, the university might decide to mention the percentage on the result as well. “This way, those who are looking for jobs instead of further studies, can enrol in the Master’s programme and others, who want to continue their studies, can go for the BS programme,” she said.
Conversion to four-year Bachelor’s degree
Akram Firdousi, a student of the first BS batch that started in 2007, completed his four years in December 2010 but he will receive his degree in a percentile, according to the old division system, instead of the promised GPA grading.
For Firdousi, this means that he will only receive a Bachelor’s degree even though he studied 10 more interdisciplinary courses than the old MA programme students. After 16 years of education, he regretted that he has not completed a Master’s, which is a requirement for most jobs.
Prof Hasnain of the teachers’ society was of the view that if the new system is ruining the student grades and affecting their jobs, there is no harm in reverting to the old system.
Dr Haleem, who is also the convenor of the BS programme in the absence of Dr Shanana Urooj, said that the problem surfaced when the colleges failed to abort their Bachelor’s programmes when the university adopted the BS programme.
“We started the programme with a good intention - to raise the standard of our degrees but there are colleges and other universities, such as Punjab University and Sindh University, that are still offering the old Master’s programmes,” she said.
As a result, the colleges were offering two-year Bachelor’s programmes, other universities were offering three-year Honours programmes and the BS programme, that takes four years, seemed like a waste of time to many students. Dr Haleem said that the BS programme was not accepted in the local market as both, conventionally and psychologically, a Bachelor’s is considered to have less value than a Master’s.
The university is preparing recommendations for the Academic Council that will decide the ultimate fate of the BS programme, said Karachi University spokesperson Qamar Rizvi while talking to The Express Tribune.
Dr Haleem, who is also a member of the Academic Council, said that it is likely that while they will not completely do away with the internationally recognised BS system, the university will keep both the programmes — BA Hons and Masters, and the BS — to help the students.
A final decision will be taken after consulting all relevant stakeholders and will be formally announced before the upcoming convocation in July that is being held for the students enrolled in the first batch of the BS programme, she assured.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2011.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ