University Grants Commission

Any commercial product launched in the market needs to be packed in an attracting manner with all the necessary details about its excellence and applications. Still, consumers are always concerned about the actual quality of the product. We may consider our education system as a huge production engine, producing thousands of graduates every year. Just like a commercial product, a graduate needs an attracting detail about himself, so that he can introduce himself in the job market. Our certificates and mark sheets provide that detail. In brief, our education system in producing brilliant graduates, and their certificates tell us about how brilliant they actually are.

By introducing the grading system, we will only manage to make our certificates look more attractive. But we should be more concerned about the quality of the graduates themselves. Our concern should be about the education structure that needs a lot of changes. Is our education system capable of appreciating the grading system? With our education system still traditional, what shall we do with the modern result system? These are the questions that should be taken into consideration immediately.

In the newly introduced grading system, the highest grade, namely A+ has been set at 80% of marks. But it is known to all that most of the public universities follow traditional system, where the highest grade is called 1st class, meaning 60% of marks. In these universities, a 60% mark is good, 65% is very good and 70% is superb! Now how is UGC going to enable the students to obtain 80% of marks? Is there any such plan whatsoever? It seems like UGC is keen to enable the grading system, but doesn't care about the entire education structure that this grading system is going to represent! Isn't it similar to retrieving the corrupted policemen's image by changing their uniform?

A grading system requires quite a few changes in the education structure. Total marks against each course should be divided into three parts: class attendance, tutorials/class-tests and the final exam. Usually, class attendance and tutorials altogether carry 30% marks. It is possible for a student to get 30 out of 30 here. This provides a chance of getting good marks. Again, an academic year should be divided into at least two semesters. But more class-tests and semesters mean more exams. The authority of any institution cannot make these changes in a day. It needs a huge rearranging in the internal structure, which will take a lot of time. Many institutions may also show reluctance in making these changes. But then students will suffer. For instance, a 1st class 1st of a department may obtain around 75% marks, but in grading system it will hardly go beyond 3.5.

I feel that there should be some clear advice from UGC about what kind of internal changes it expects from the institutions and within what period of time the changes have to be made. Then and only then this grading system can do any good to the students. I, therefore, urge the UGC authority to first initiate changes in the educational structure, so that it becomes compatible with the grading system.