Letter grading system confusing students

Kathmandu, June 27

Education experts today claimed that the grading system which was introduced without a pre-plan has created confusion among students and guardians.

Speaking at a programme here today member of Parliament Geeta Rana, who is also the former president of National Private and Boarding Schools Association Nepal, said that though students could evaluate their own performance in the grading system, conversion of marks achieved in the three-hour long examination was not going to improve the quality of education.

She said, “Grading system should be implement from grade IX to XII and its implementation only in one grade will not give good result,” adding, “Each student should get the opportunity to study as per the grades, but in our country, it was implemented without any infrastructure to adjust such students.”

She said that schools envisioned in the establishment of schools under Guthi in the Education (Eighth Amendment) Act was not going to uplift education.

Ramesh Silwal, president of Higher Secondary Schools Association of Nepal said students with D and E grades would not get the opportunity for further studies due to lack of homework with regard to the grading system.

He claimed that the grading system was not going to improve education quality. “To improve the quality of education, there is need of quality teachers and quality education system,” he added.

Karna Bahadur Shahi, president, NPABSAN today alleged that the government was implementing the grading system in an ad hoc basis.

He said, “If the government wants to implement the grading system, it should begin from grade IX.”

Dr Laba Deo Awasthi, joint secretary, Ministry of Education said that they had already experimented letter grading system in the pilot phase in the technical and vocational stream in SLC last year.