KOCHI: Though the State Government had promised three per cent grace mark to the higher secondary students who worked in the National Games Committee as facilitators, the students have been left in the lurch due to lack of clarity in guidelines.
As per the directive, students who have 95 per cent attendance in Games-related activities would get five per cent grace mark in their final examinations.
However, with just 10 days remaining for the publication of the examination results, a change in the norms has cast uncertainty over the grace mark to be awarded to over 900 students. According to the students, initially it was stipulated that copy of the certificate of participation in the National Games and copy of the hall ticket was sufficient to earn the grace mark.
“Now, the authorities are insisting on a document proving the students’ attendance at the Games Committee. The school authorities are saying that the participation certificate alone is not sufficient. They are asking for a certificate to prove our attendance. How can we produce that within 10 days?,” asked Sobin Joseph, a plus-II student.
Meanwhile, the National Games authorities said they did not receive any guideline to issue attendance certificates to students. “Only those who participated in the Games as facilitators got attendance certificate from the organisers. It will be Herculean task for us to categorise the students and issue attendance certificates,” said an official associated with the National games, on condition of anonymity.
At the meeting of the Games Organising Committee held on September 16, 2014, in Thiruvananthapuram, it was decided to propose to the government to award three per cent grace marks to the students. The students were given participation certification on time.
“Later, we were told that the participation certificate alone would not be sufficient for securing the grace mark. They are demanding attendance certificate at the eleventh hour, and two months after the Games got over. This will affect our future, and we are in a dilemma. We have lost over 15 days of class, and this is what we are getting in return,” said Ajay, another plus-II student. When contacted, Education Minister Abdu Rabb said he was not aware of the issue. “However, we will take up the matter with the officials concerned and take the necessary steps, if needed,” the Minister said.