Bilawal expresses concern over discrepancies in CAIE grades

KARACHI: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed concerns over discrepancies in Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) grades after the results left the students across the country devastated.

Taking notice of the outcry, the PPP chairman said, “Our children work hard all year and faced with unprecedented circumstances owing to COVID-19, they had no option but to accept grades based on their expected results.”

“Such glaring discrepancies put their college admissions and by virtue, their futures, at great risk,” he added.

The PPP chairman has urged the government to pay attention to this pressing issue and to take it up with the examination board at the earliest.

CAIE grades for students were released on Wednesday and just like other countries where the exams are taken, in Pakistan, students had been unable to sit exams as planned in April, May and June due to the COVID-19 lockdown and instead receive a moderated grade based on an assessment by their school or teacher.

The last-minute change to grades was based on the judgement of a student's school and then moderated by exam boards.

In Scotland, the publication of key results last week caused uproar and demands for its education minister John Swinney to resign, amid complaints that the moderation process had caused the downgrading of grades for the poorest pupils.

Swinney on Tuesday bowed to pressure and announced that more than 70,000 Scottish pupils would have their results restored to their teachers'original assessments'.

In a bid to head off a similar row in England, which has a different school system, education minister Gavin Williamson announced a new policy.

Pupils aged 18 receiving A-Level results today would be able to accept their result, challenge it based on the preparatory mock exam results or sit new tests in the autumn.

"This triple lock system will help provide reassurance to students and ensure they can progress with the next stage of their lives," he said.