ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) has increased passing marks from the existing 33 to 40pc, besides notifying a new grading system.

The new system will be implemented on annual examinations, effective next year.

According to an FBISE official, existing passing marks in per subject are 33pc but from next year, 40pc will be considered as passing marks.

The FBISE has also changed its old grading system of A, B, C, D and E, replacing them with new performance indicators, besides increasing their range. The old system only had five grades, while the new system envisages 10 such gradations.

The move follow’s last month’s decision by Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC), Islamabad.

“Revised Grading system stands implemented with effect from the First Annual Examinations 2026 for Secondary School Certificate-I (SSC-I), Higher Secondary School Certificate-I (HSSC-I) level and subsequently with effect from first annual examination 2027 of SSC-II and HSSC-II level,” said a notification issued on Tuesday.

According to the notification, students who get 96pc to 100pc marks will be given an A++ grade, which will categorised as ‘extraordinary’. Similarly, those in the 91pc to 95pc range will get A+ and categorised as ‘exceptional’. Those in the 86pc to 90pc range will get A grades in the ‘outstanding’ category.

Students who secure 81pc to 85pc marks will be awarded the B++ grade, which is considered ‘excellent’; 76pc to 80pc (B+) is considered ‘very good’, while 71pc to 75pc will get a B grade, considered ‘good’.

Similarly, the 61pc to 70pc (C+) range is classified as ‘fairly good’, while students who get 51pc to 60pc will get the C grade and considered ‘above average’. Those scoring 40pc to 50pc marks will be given the D grade, which has been named as the ‘emerging’ category.

An FBISE official said during the said meeting of IBCC, all examination boards of the country had agreed for adopting revised grading system and new passing marks formula, however, it is yet to be seen, whether they will implement it or not.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2025