WITH education boards employing a new grading system at the matriculation and intermediate levels, aimed at doing justice to hard-working students, there appears to be a quagmire waiting for the majority of students as they will be hit hard.

Not everyone tries to be a topper. Most of them want to be good enough to transition smoothly to the next stage. The brilliant ones will have an opportunity to stand out from the crowd as grades received will lie in a narrow range and, thereby, more specific. Consequently, the so-called ‘competition pressure’ will rise, perhaps chopping down the number of students entering public education institutions. This will lead to even more overcrowded private institutions. Is that really what we want?

Besides, there are students who plan to bring the curtain down on their academic career at either matriculation or intermediate level. They move to vocational training or enter the job market owing to the financial circumstances of the households they belong to. Naturally, all the target is to simply ‘pass’ the exam and move on. With the pass percentage rising, their futures are at stake as well.

To revise the grading system without actually doing next to nothing about course content and delivery is a tricky approach that may not produce the desired results.

Maheen Waheed
Sialkot

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2022