ISLAMABAD, Jan 28: The Supreme Court Friday termed the culture of seeking and granting grace marks a clear violation of the principles of good governance which would promote substandard education.

“The practice of grace marks should be discontinued to produce doctors on the basis of merit”, observed a three-member SC bench comprising Justice Rana Baghwandas, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday and Justice Nasirul Mulk while hearing a petition by Nasir Subhani, a student of Rawalpindi Medical College.

The petitioner has approached the apex court against alleged discrimination in grant of grace marks by the vice-chancellor of the University of Health Sciences, Lahore.

The bench said “there is no law to grant grace marks to failed students specially students of MBBS because of the critical job of doctors in saving human lives”.

It observed that the vice-chancellor has no authority or right to pass students by granting grace marks.

Advocate Shaukat Siddiqui appeared before the court as counsel for the complainant and Shahid Karim represented the University of Health Sciences, Lahore.

“The nation wants doctors who are fully equipped with professional knowledge and not such people who pass exams through grace marks”, the court observed.—APP