The Sindh government has decided to implement a watermarking system to prevent cheating and paper leaks during the upcoming examinations across the province.
The decision was taken during a review meeting on examination preparations that was chaired by Provincial Minister for Universities, Ismail Rahu.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that despite the prevailing situation, the examinations will be held on the announced schedule with more than 1600 examination centres established all over Sindh.
He said that the intermediate examinations in Karachi will start from April 25, while the matriculation exams will begin from April 7. In the Sukkur division, matric exams are set to start from March 30, followed by intermediate exams from 15th of April.
The minister said the new watermarking system will assist authorities in identifying the persons involved in unearthing the examination papers at a fast rate. In addition, there will be a provincial level of the complaint cells to monitor the examination centres and redress grievances during the examination period.
New grading system replaces traditional marks in Sindh schools
Previously, the Sindh government officially abolished the traditional marks-based system in all educational boards of the province, and it introduced a new grading system in matriculation and intermediate examinations.
The decision, made by Sindh Minister for Universities Ismail Rahoo, is in line with policy guidelines as issued by the Inter Board Coordination Commission (IBCC).
Under the new policy, students who have scores of less than 40 per cent will be considered failed. The minister explained that the decades-old marks system has been replaced with an internationally recognised grading system to ensure uniformity in examination results across the country.
The implementation of the policy is to be made in phases in the province of Sindh.
The new grading system will be implemented in 2026 for first-year examinations of Classes 9 (SSC-I) and 11 (HSSC-I), and in 2027, it will be extended to Classes 10 (SSC-II) and 12 (HSSC-II) annual examinations.
The approved structure will categorise performance as follows, A++ 96-100%, A+ 91-95%, A 86-90%, B++ 81-85%, B+ 76-80%, B 71-75%, C+ 61-70%, C 51-60%, D 40-50% as ‘Emerging’ and U less than 40% as ungraded or fail.
Also read: Govt announces 100% work from home policy on Friday
