Govt to introduce GPA-4 in place of 5

The government has decided to introduce Grade Point Average (GPA)-4, instead of GPA-5, in all public exams to keep pace with local and international levels for students pursuing higher education or seeking jobs.

At present, the total marks of students are estimated under GPA-5 in public exams, including Primary Education Completion (PEC) and equivalent, Junior School Certificate (JSC) and equivalent, Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent, and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams. Education ministry sources said that the final announcement would be made after one or two meetings in this regard.

Sources said GPA-4 system would be applied to the upcoming JSC and equivalent exams in November.  From next year, the SSC and HSC or equivalent exams would follow GPA-4. 

In addition, sources said that the ministry had decided to reorganise the existing GPA-5 because students, different education boards and universities face problems when those grades are made equivalent with the grading system of the tertiary-level education while pursuing higher education. The decisions were taken at a closed-door meeting of the education ministry, chaired by education minister Dipu Moni, at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka.

Syed Shahadat Hossain, professor of the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (Dhaka University) and member of the grading committee, proposed the new grading system at the meeting.

According to the new system, A+ would be equivalent to grade point 4 under the class interval 90–100, A equivalent to 3.5 under class interval 80–89, B+ equivalent to 3 under class interval 70–79, B equivalent to 2.5 under class interval 60–69, C+ equivalent to 2 under class interval 50–59, C equivalent to 1.5 under class interval 40–49, D equivalent to 1 under class interval 33–39, and F equivalent to 0 under class interval 0–32.

The current grading system in schools was introduced in 2001 to replace the division system of first class, second class, and third class. Under this, there are seven levels of the letter grading system: A+, A, A-, B, C, D, F.

A+ is equivalent to grade point 5 under the class interval 80–100, A is equivalent to 4 under class interval 70–79, A- is equivalent to 3.5 under class interval 60–69, B is equivalent to 3 under class interval 50–59, C is equivalent to 2 under class interval 40–49, D is equivalent to 1 under class interval 33–39, and F is equivalent to 0 under class interval 0–32, which means fail.

Hossain said GPA is common in many countries like the US, Canada, and Australia.

He also said the conversion from a five-point to a four-point GPA in JSC, SSC, and HSC would pose some challenges which need to be addressed. The challenges will be changes in the result template, transcripts and the strategy for comparability with previous years’ results, as well as mitigation of the socio-psychological aspect for students and parents and changes in the marking mindset of teachers.

Regarding the prospects of GPA-4, Hossain said, if the school education GPA system and university GPA system would be aligned, students would become familiar with the university grading system both at home and abroad. This would adjust the lack of uniformity of the previous system’s class interval. As the highest interval of the previous system was too wide, this could be adjusted too and the statistical perspective of the results would be more compliant, he added.

Hossain said that attendees at the education ministry meeting unanimously agreed to implement the new GPA-4 in the secondary and higher secondary levels to align the grading system with the tertiary level. According to sources, the education minister said that the grading system of the country’s educational sector should be unified to keep pace with the developed world.

Secondary and Higher Education Division senior secretary Md Sohorab Hossain, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education directoir general Prof. Syed Md. Golam Faruk, Directorate of Madrasa Education director general Shafiuddin Ahmed, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Dhaka) chairman M Ziaul Haque, and  chairman Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board Prof. Kaiser Ahmed were present at the meeting.

IK/BK

 

Govt to introduce GPA-4 in place of 5

The government has decided to introduce Grade Point Average (GPA)-4, instead of GPA-5, in all public exams to keep pace with local and international levels for students pursuing higher education or seeking jobs. At present, the total marks of students are estimated under GPA-5 in public exams, including Primary Education Completion (PEC) and equivalent, Junior School Certificate (JSC) and equivalent, Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent, and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams. Education ministry sources said that the final announcement would be made after one or two meetings in this regard. Sources said GPA-4 system would be applied to the upcoming JSC and equivalent exams in November. From next year, the SSC and HSC or equivalent exams would follow GPA-4. In addition, sources said that the ministry had decided to reorganise the existing GPA-5 because students, different education boards and universities face problems when those grades are made equivalent with the grading system of the tertiary-level education while pursuing higher education. The decisions were taken at a closed-door meeting of the education ministry, chaired by education minister Dipu Moni, at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka. Syed Shahadat Hossain, professor of the Institute of Statistical Research and Training (Dhaka University) and member of the grading committee, proposed the new grading system at the meeting. According to the new system, A+ would be equivalent to grade point 4 under the class interval 90100, A equivalent to 3.5 under class interval 8089, B+ equivalent to 3 under class interval 7079, B equivalent to 2.5 under class interval 6069, C+ equivalent to 2 under class interval 5059, C equivalent to 1.5 under class interval 4049, D equivalent to 1 under class interval 3339, and F equivalent to 0 under class interval 032. The current grading system in schools was introduced in 2001 to replace the division system of first class, second class, and third class. Under this, there are seven levels of the letter grading system: A+, A, A-, B, C, D, F. A+ is equivalent to grade point 5 under the class interval 80100, A is equivalent to 4 under class interval 7079, A- is equivalent to 3.5 under class interval 6069, B is equivalent to 3 under class interval 5059, C is equivalent to 2 under class interval 4049, D is equivalent to 1 under class interval 3339, and F is equivalent to 0 under class interval 032, which means fail. Hossain said GPA is common in many countries like the US, Canada, and Australia. He also said the conversion from a five-point to a four-point GPA in JSC, SSC, and HSC would pose some challenges which need to be addressed. The challenges will be changes in the result template, transcripts and the strategy for comparability with previous years results, as well as mitigation of the socio-psychological aspect for students and parents and changes in the marking mindset of teachers. Regarding the prospects of GPA-4, Hossain said, if the school education GPA system and university GPA system would be aligned, students would become familiar with the university grading system both at home and abroad. This would adjust the lack of uniformity of the previous systems class interval. As the highest interval of the previous system was too wide, this could be adjusted too and the statistical perspective of the results would be more compliant, he added. Hossain said that attendees at the education ministry meeting unanimously agreed to implement the new GPA-4 in the secondary and higher secondary levels to align the grading system with the tertiary level. According to sources, the education minister said that the grading system of the countrys educational sector should be unified to keep pace with the developed world. Secondary and Higher Education Division senior secretary Md Sohorab Hossain, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education directoir general Prof. Syed Md. Golam Faruk, Directorate of Madrasa Education director general Shafiuddin Ahmed, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Dhaka) chairman M Ziaul Haque, and chairman Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board Prof. Kaiser Ahmed were present at the meeting. IK/BK