The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has now scrapped the moderation policy which managed the grace marks provided to students in examinations for difficult questions. After a high-level-meeting, the CBSE Education officials decided that this move will lead to a lower cut-off in entrance exams of the universities.

In December 2016, the CBSE had put a request to the Human Resource Development Ministry to assist them for developing a consensus amidst all state boards in removing the moderation policy on marks, which was the reason behind inflated score seen in board exam results. Examinees now are awarded with up to 15% additional marks for certain papers where the questions seem to be difficult.

How Had the Grace Marks Benefitted Students Earlier?

As growing level of difficulty in question papers for exams lead to stress among students, CBSE thinks that offering grace mark system for very complex subjects is fair system at least for those students who are at the verge of not clearing the exams just because of lack of few marks. While awarding too many marks is a no-no, students find the remaining grace marking nothing less than a boon.

The practise of giving grace marks will continue so that students are able to clear the examinations even if they fall short of few marks. If the states consent in adopting this policy, then the problem of soaring cut-offs needed to get admission in colleges may go down. Many CBSE Schools in Thane and Mumbai along with those in metro cities have already begun working to implement the change in moderation policy on grace marking system.

What are the Disadvantages of Scrapping the Policy?

The CBSE however opined that scrapping of the concerned policy can disadvantage the students when they seek admissions for undergraduate courses, and it is very important that even state board education applies the scrapping of policy to create transparency in marking system, which will impact the students during admission procedure.

If the state boards do not adopt this similar policy then there will be a misbalance as to the score attained by CBSE board students with that of state board students. In case the policy is implemented equally then every student can avail equal chance in getting admission at college, which often work on cut-off system of marks to judge a candidate’s admission eligibility.

How to Get the Most from the New Policy Change?

High hopes for the adoption of the policy change is from leading metro cities, which if implemented appropriately can ease admission process for schools in Thane, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, NCR and other regions. The decision has already resulted discussion about pros and cons of the policy, as many students are of the opinion that it may hurt their chances for pursuing undergraduate courses, if the marking system called for is ignored by the state boards’ education.

In days to come, we will be able to understand the extent of scrapping of marks moderation policy and how the students’ scores will be affected from the same or how dominant boards of education will adjust with it.

Contact:

Rainbow International School Thane

www.rainbowinternationalschool.in

Phone No. 022 6114 7114