THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The general education department's decision to do away with grace marks for the recently concluded public examinations at the school level would end the disparity between state board students and students form CBSE and ICSE streams during admission to the state higher secondary course and undergraduate courses in universities this year, academics have pointed out.
The regular practice of awarding grace marks was done away with in view of suspension of extra curricular activities during the previous academic year owing to the pandemic. Marks ranging from 3% to as high as 20% of the aggregate score are awarded as grace marks in the Higher Secondary section for students who participate in extra curricular activities or excel in state, national or international level competitions. For SSLC, the grace marks thus obtained can be in the range of 12 to more than 120.
"There have been instances where a student who failed in three subjects has got pass marks thanks to the lavish award of grace marks," admitted a senior official of the general education department. Meanwhile, even the most meritorious students studying in CBSE and ICSE/ ISC streams lose out to the students passing out from the state syllabus schools while seeking admission to higher courses as no grace marks are provided to students of national boards.
The Union HRD Ministry (now Union Education Ministry) had called for the abolition of grace marks for Classes 10 and 12 except in cases of ambiguity in question papers. A few CBSE students had approached the High Court in 2019 seeking implementation of the Centre's directive. They contended that grace marks should be shown separately in the mark list and not added to the aggregate marks. However, the state government took an ambivalent stance on the matter and maintained that more discussions were needed before making any amendments to the decades-old practice of awarding grace marks.
Meanwhile, Class 12 students of CBSE and ICSE / ISC streams who are concerned about their final exam marks in the wake of the cancellation of Board exams have heaved a sigh of relief. The new development would place them on a par with state syllabus students for admission to undergraduate courses. Besides, Board exam marks will not be considered while preparing the ranklist for professional courses such as engineering this year.
"We welcome the government's decision to do away with grace marks for public exams as it would create a level playing field for students from all streams. However, it should not be a one-time affair on account of the pandemic," said Indira Rajan, secretary general, National Council of CBSE Schools.
The decision has also come as a relief to around 35,000 CBSE students who cross over to state Higher Secondary stream every year after Class X. Due to a standardisation process that puts SSLC students with grace marks at an advantage, CBSE students have often complained of being handed out a raw deal in the state Higher Secondary admissions.