SSC, HSC mark sheets likely from next year
HARUN UR RASHID
Students appearing for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations are likely to get marksheets, containing individual subject marks, from next year. SSC and HSC students have been under the grading system since 2001 and 2003, respectively. As per the system, A+ means 80-100 marks , A 70-79, A- 60-69, B 50-59, C 40-49, D 33-40 and F 0-32 marks. Finally, a student gets a Grade Points Average (GPA) as per his overall performance in all subjects.
The division system was in place before 2001. A student securing 600-1000 marks was placed in the first division, 450 meant second division and 330 marks third division; 750 was considered star marks. Letter marks for each subject was 80.
Under the grading system, a student does not have the option to know what actual marks he or she has obtained. Nafees Salman Khan, a science student of the Government Kabi Nazrul College, Dhaka, passed the HSC exams in 2010. But he was not happy with his results. Later, he applied for re-evaluation of his results at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, but the board did not take any steps. Finally, he filed a writ petition before the High Court, saying the government had stopped issuing marksheets to introduce the grading system.
The High Court gave a verdict on 21 April, 2015 in favour of Nafees, saying: Its a fundamental right of a student to get marksheet. This right has been defended by the Right to Information Act, 2009 and the Constitution of Bangladesh. So, from now on the elaborate marksheet has to be issued for each student and there should not be any negligence for it.
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education filed an appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the verdict. But on 22 November, 2015 the Appellate Division upheld the verdict of the High Court and gave an order saying: We have heard learned Counsel of both the parties and perused the impugned judgement and order of the High Court Division. We find no merit in this petition filed by the petitioner against the impugned judgement of the High Court Division. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed.
After the final order of the Appellate Division, the way for getting marksheets was cleared.
Talking to The Independent, Prof Abu Bakkar Siddique, chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, said: We still have not got a copy of the judgement. We will act according to the verdict of the court.
He also said that students have every right to get marksheets, but it was changed due to introduction of the grading system.
After getting the certified copy of the verdict, we will discuss it with inter-board members and the ministry and take steps, he added.
Since the inception of the grading system, the number of GPA holders has been increasing geometrically. In the SSC and equivalent exam results in 2001, only 76 students got GPA-5, while in 2002 the number of GPA-5 holders was 327; in 2003, it was 1,389; in 2004, 8,597; in 2005, 15,631; in 2006, 30,490; in 2007, 32,060; in 2008, 52,500; in 2009, 62,307; in 2010, 82,961; in 2011, 76,749; in 2012, 82,212; in 2013, 91,226; in 2014, 1,42,276 and in 2015 the number of GPA-5 holders was 1,11,901.
The rising curve of GPA-5 holders has created much excitement among students, guardians and the government. But it has also created concern among academic circles, because less than one per cent of these successful students get a chance in the university admission test.
