The Human Resources Development Ministry is considering scrapping the “marks moderation” or “grace marks” policy in school boards. It has called for a meeting of the chairpersons of state boards and state education secretaries on April 24 to discuss the idea, PTI reported on Thursday.
Students are usually awarded up to 15% extra marks in some subjects to compensate for the tough questions asked during exams. The inflated scores, in turn, force colleges to set their cut-off marks at 100%. The ministry believes that scrapping the policy will also reduce the pressure on the students appearing for Class 12 exams.
In December 2016, the Central Board of Secondary Education had sought the HRD Ministry’s help to build consensus among all boards to end this practice. Between 2008 and 2014, the policy had raised the number of top scorers in CBSE with 95% aggregate marks, according to the PTI report.
“It has been going on for quite some time and is unjust on those working hard and getting 95% without moderation,” an unidentified official told Hindustan Times.
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