Administrative decisions: New grading system halted for technical reasons

Teachers, examiners will get time to acquaint themselves with the fresh examination evaluation criteria

KARACHI:

A new grading system for matriculation and intermediate level, which was meant to do away with the traditional totals marks obtained system in favour of the world-renowned grade point average (GPA) and cumulative grade point average (CGPA) method of scoring, has been halted for a year due to technical issues.

The implementation of a new 10-point grading system for matriculation and intermediate levels, has been stopped across the country, including Sindh. Resultantly, the education boards across the country will now prepare the matriculation and intermediate level results this year under the existing old system.

Secretary for the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC), Dr Ghulam Ali Malah, confirmed the one-year delay in the implementation, whilst talking to The Express Tribune. "Some education boards had raised an objection that since the decision to implement the new system was taken during the session, it should be implemented from the next academic session instead of the current session. After which it was decided to postpone the implementation of the new grading system for a year."

It should be noted that the decision to introduce the new 10-point grading system at matriculation and intermediate level in all education boards of Pakistan was taken in December of 2022 and in this regard, training workshops for exam controllers were also to be organised. However, now examiners will get a chance to breathe a sigh of relief and get themselves acquainted with the new system before foregoing the current one, as The Express Tribune learnt from sources privy to the matter that the education boards of Sindh were the least prepared to implement the new system.

The current grading system is known as the 7-point alphabetical grading system and students need to obtain only 33 per cent marks to clear examinations. However, in the new grading system, the passing marks at matriculation and intermediate level will be increased to 40 per cent and instead of total marks obtained, students will now be given a GPA and CGPA. The new grading system has made some cosmetic changes as well, such as renaming what each grade means.

To illustrate: students who get 95 to 100 per cent marks will have A++, which will be called exceptional; A+ from 90 to 95 per cent will be termed as outstanding; A from 85 to 90 per cent will be termed as remarkable; B++ from 80 to 85 per cent will be called as excellent; B+ from 75 to 80 per cent will be termed as very good; B from 70 to 75 per cent will be termed as good; C from 70 to 60 per cent will be termed as fair; D from 60 to 50 will be termed as satisfactory; E from 50 to 40 will be termed as sufficient; and anything below 40 per cent will be termed as unsatisfactory, so students can expect to see a U on their result cards instead of 'fail'.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2023.