Islamabad: The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, also known as FBISE, has increased the pass percentage of Secondary (SSC or Matric) and Higher Secondary (HSSC or Intermediate) exams from this year.
The minimum passing marks in the two exams is currently 33%. The Federal Board has however increased it to 40%.
“It is notified for information of all concerned that FBISE has increased the pass percentage from 33% to 40% at SSC and HSSC levels”, the board said in a notification dated January 25, 2023.
The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) is a Government of Pakistan board for examining the intermediate and secondary education in Pakistan and abroad for Pakistan International School.
Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or Matric exam is divided into Secondary School Certificate Part-I (SSC-I or Class 9) and Secondary School Certificate Part-II (SSC-II or Class 10).
On the other hand, Higher Secondary School Certificate is further divided into Higher Secondary School Certificate Part-I (HSSC-I or Class 11) and Higher Secondary School Certificate Part-II (HSSC-II and Class 12).
Class 10th and Class 12th board exams in India are conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and also different state boards.
Minimum passing marks for the 10th and 12th board exams conducted by CBSE is 33% whereas it is 35% for the exams conducted by state boards.
CISCE is another central board which conducts ICSE Class 10 and ISC Class 12 exams. The minimum passing marks in the two exams is also 35%.
Minimum passing marks in UK and most of the countries is 50% and more. It is said that after the first war of independence in 1857 when the British reformed the education system and decided to conduct school exams in India a debate was raged on the minimum passing criteria that was 65% in Britain at that time.
Britain however decided to halve the minimum passing marks for the Indian students, and for the first matriculation exams that was held in 1858 fixed it at 32.5%. It was revised to 33% in 1861 to make calculation easier.
In a related development, FBISE Pakistan said it will hold separate practical exams instead of composite ones at both SSC and HSSC levels.
Taking to Twitter, the Federal Board announced that practical exams for Classes 9, 10, 11, and 12 will be held separately.
"The decision will take effect from the annual exams in 2024", the board said.
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