THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The general education department will consider reintroducing the norm of awarding grace marks, during Plus-I admission, to students proficient in swimming. This was informed by General Education Minister V Sivankutty in the assembly on Thursday.
The general education department had been awarding two marks as grace marks till 2022-23 academic year for students who have obtained swimming proficiency certificates from the sports council through the local bodies concerned. However, in the wake of numerous complaints, the awarding of grace marks for swimming proficiency was stopped.
Sivankutty told the assembly that the government is also planning to construct swimming pools across the state in association with local bodies, sports councils and NGOs to ensure cultivation of the essential life skill of swimming among school students.
As a first step, a swimming pool has been constructed in the minister’s constituency Nemom in association with an NGO that functions under the supervision of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Preliminary steps to impart swimming lessons to students from primary level onward have commenced at the facility, the minister added.