BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has decided to withdraw the grace marks that have been awarded to students in the SSLC (Class 10) examinations.
School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on October 9 announced that the grace marks would no longer be awarded starting this year. This move comes after the backlash from several quarters including students, private school management associations and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The series of initiatives such as live streaming and webcasting of examination proceedings have been launched to curb malpractices during the exams. The students no longer need grace marks as the examination process has become more transparent and free of cheating.
“The instances of copying during exams have been curbed due to the reforms we introduced last year. Students are fully aware of the system and there is no fear or confusion. Hence, there is no longer a need to award grace marks,” media reports quoted Madhu Bangarappa saying.
Bangarappa mentioned that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had expressed dissatisfaction with the grace marks.
During a meeting recently, Siddaramaiah questioned the rationale behind awarding grace marks to the students and asked the Education Department to discontinue the practice.
In the March and April 2024 SSLC exams, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) awarded 20% grace marks to boost the results, which had dropped by 30% due to stricter implementation of measures to curb malpractice.
As a result, around 1.70 lakh students who had failed, were promoted, and the overall pass rate increased by 20%.
The officials said that of the 20% grace marks, 10% were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, while the rest 10% were granted in light of the recent reforms.
However, as per the minister’s announcement, even the 10% grace introduced during the coronavirus pandemic will be abolished from this year.
Bangarappa said that he would discuss the issue further with the Chief Minister.
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