When a huge number of students failed the 2016 Class X exam in Punjab, the Punjab School Education Board doled out nothing less than 27 grace marks to a massive 127,000 students who had failed in one or more subjects.
The board’s largesse ensured that the pass percentage jumped from an embarrassing 39.5% to a more respectable 72.25%.
Similarly, for class 12, the pass percentage jumped from 54.15% to 76.5% after 30 grace marks were awarded across all streams.
According to the board's academic regulations, not more than 1% grace marks can be given. All this was done on May 23, just six days before the intermediate examination scandal of propping up toppers rocked Bihar.
Barely 48 hours before results were announced, the board asked two Delhi-based software firms which were preparing the result, to submit four different formulas to award the grace marks. This despite the fact that were no errors or typos in the six question papers. There was just one small error in the mathematics paper.
Once the final formula was applied, 2,45,509 students out of 3.4 lakh students cleared the class X exam. Only 1,34,471 students would have passed if the grace marks had not been given.
"We have followed the rule book and will make amendments if necessary," a member of the Punjab School Education Board told The Times of India.
All students who were failing were first given 1% grace, which is equivalent to seven marks, and 10 marks in general. These 17 marks could be used in any or all of the six subjects — Science, English, Math, Social Science, Hindi and Punjabi. Besides, all students whether they were failing or not, were given four marks grace each in English and Social Science and two marks in Mathematics.
Records reveal that even in 2015, the original pass percentage jumped from 48.22%, to 65.21% after grace marks were awarded in similar way.
The moderation note justifies the grace marks saying, "The chairperson can moderate the results if the pass percentage has dropped significantly from the previous years".
Earlier this year, student visa applications of several PSEB qualified applicants were rejected by the Australian High Commission citing the state board qualification.
