Manipur Govt. to Introduce Grading System in Mark Statement

The Department of Education (S), Government of Manipur, on Thursday announced that it would introduce grading system and grade points without display of marks in the "Mark Statement cum Certificate" issued by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, from the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) Examination, 2024 onwards.

Joint Secretary, Education (S), Manipur Elangbam Sonia made the announcement through a press release issued on Thursday .

In a press release, the Department's Joint Secretary, Elangbam Sonia said, “In view of the changing times and new programs being introduced in the Education Sector and the need for the Board of our State to change and adopt new system which will enhance the overall performance of the students, without undue pressure, Education-School Department, Government of Manipur, taking Board of Secondary Education into confidence, is introducing Grades and Grade points without display of Marks in the Mark Statement cum certificate in the Certificates issued by the Board of Secondary Education Manipur from High School Leaving Certificate Examination, 2024."

In the grading system being introduced, no total marks/aggregate will be displayed in the document, no division/rank will be awarded and only pass/fail shall be printed.

The press statement stated that students will be graded as “91-100 as A1 with Grade points 10, 81-90 as A2 with Grade points 9, 71-80 as B1 with Grade points 8, 61-70 as B2 with Grade points 7, 51-60 as C1 with Grade points 6, 41-50 as C2 with Grade points 5, 31-40 as D with Grade points 4, 21-30 as E1=Fail & 00-20 as E2-Fail.”

However, internal assessment and external examination (80 marks) conducted by the Board shall remain the same. The government felt that though competition amongst the students is good to improve one's performance, there is a need to see that it does not lead to stress or completely dishearten a minor.

Grading system on the other hand reduces stress and burden on the students helping them to learn with less stress without being over competitive at their age, official said.

Further, the present system of checking answer sheets and award of marks is not without shortcomings. Answer sheets are checked by teachers and each may have a method of evaluation. However, if the students are given grades which would indicate a range, it is highly unlikely that Grade would be different irrespective of who checks the answer sheet, the statement added.