PESHAWAR: All boards of intermediate and secondary education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have agreed to switch from marks to grading system in matriculation and intermediate examinations to check “social pressure on the students and end the race among the private educational institutions for getting top positions.

The development comes in light of a decision taken by the Inter-Board Coordination Commission, which has chairmen of the country’s all education boards as members.

“We are going to approach the elementary and secondary education department for the policy decision on grading system,” chairman of the Dera Ismail Khan BISEProf Ihsanullah told Dawn.

He said other provinces had also started working on the grading system in light of the IBCC’s decision.

Official says practical-based assessment to be introduced for science subjects

Prof Ihsanullah said most probably, the grading system would be implemented for the ninth and 11th class examinations from the next matriculation and intermediate examinations to be held next year, while it would be introduced “completely” in 2025.

An official of the Peshawar BISE told Dawn that currently, students sitting the matriculation and intermediate examinations faced a lot of parental and social pressure about getting positions at the level of education boards and schools.

He added that such pressures had a very negative impact on students as suicides by several students were reported over their failure to obtain good marks in exams.

The official said the grading system would also discourage private schools from using unfair means, including bribing of the invigilation staff, to allow cheating in examinations to help their students get high marks.

He said the boards faced criticism for awarding excessive marks to students in the annual matriculation and intermediate examinations.

Prof Ihsanullah said that there would be different categories in the grading system, including A++ for 95 per cent marks and above, A+ for 90-94 per cent marks, A for 85-89 per cent marks, B++ for 80-84 per cent marks, B+ for 75-79 per cent marks, B for 70-74 per cent marks, C for 60-69 per cent marks, D for 50-59 per cent marks and E for 40-49 per cent marks, while those with under 40 per cent marks would fail.

“There will be no position holders with the maximum marks in the grading system,” he said. He also said that the pass mark in the existing exam system was 33 per cent, which would be increased to 40 per cent in the grading system.

The board chairman said the education boards had also decided to replace oral examinations for science subjects with “practical-based assessment” through a pictorial paper.

He said under the existing system, marks for oral examination are awarded to students by the examiners, while in the pictorial paper, the students will be assessed whether they have done the practical of science subjects or not in their respective schools.

Prof Ihsanullah said there were 60 marks for oral examination of science subjects in the matriculation exam and 90 marks in the intermediate exam.

Sources in the Peshawar BISE said that the marks for oral examination were awarded by the examiners at their “sweet will” for which private schools used all means to claim the maximum possible marks for their students.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023