The government on Thursday issued a decision about students of grade 9th to 12th classes getting promoted without taking exams.
The decision was taken at the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said while briefing the media after the conference.
The conference adopted the educational policy formulated in the wake of the novel coronavirus. During the current year, around four million students of 9th to 12th classes were to appear in the examinations, which were canceled.
The Federal Minister for Education said that the educational institutions across the country had already been closed till July 15 as per the decision of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) to save the students from coronavirus.
While sharing the details of student promotion policy too, Shafqat said all the grades 9 and 11 students, both regular and private, would be promoted to the 10th and 12th grades respectively.
Adding to the details, he said that students would not take composite examinations in 2021, rather they would only appear in examination of grade 10 or 12 respectively. The scores for grades 9 and 11 would be calculated on the basis of their performance in examinations for grade 10 and 12 respectively, he added.
The minister also said the grade 10 and 12 students would be awarded scores as per their numbers obtained in grade 9 and 11 examinations respectively.
The minister added that students who have cleared all the subjects in 9th and 11th grades would pass the 10th and 12th classes and it would cater to a vast majority students, the minister added. Students would also get an additional 3 percent added to their total based on their previous examinations.
Shafqat said the students appearing in the 10th and 12th class examinations, who could manage to pass up to 40 percent subjects in grade 9th and 11th subjects, would be awarded passing marks.
Shafqat further added that if the situation was controlled, a special exam would be held from September and November 2020 for those students who were not satisfied with the policy. The students, who would also not be satisfied with their grade 11th results, could also improve their position by appearing in the special examination for 12th class.
Similarly, those who wanted to appear in additional subjects or those who had failed in more than 40 percent of subjects in classes 9 and 11, could also attend the special exam. The exam fee of those students would be re-adjusted in the special exam, Shafqat clarified.
The minister said only an aggregate score out of 1,100 and an overall grade would be mentioned in the transcripts and not the scores of individual subjects for Part-II of Matric or Intermediate (both theory and practical).
He said the educational boards should mention in the transcripts and certificates that the marks awarded for part II, were based on the formula and guidelines approved by the government and recognized by the Inter board of Chairman Committee (IBCC), and showed the best performance of the student.
The grade 10th and 12th students, who wished to take the special examination for any reason, would have informed their respective boards by July 1, 2020, he added.
The students would be awarded transcripts and certificates after the special examination, the minister said.
To a question, he said professional training institutes were only awarding certificates and not degrees to the students. “We are also devising a policy in this regard,” he added. To another query, the minister said they did not want to interfere in the affairs of universities and the Higher Education Commission had been directed to evolve a policy with the consultation of universities regarding their exams.