New Delhi: Though the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has religiously followed Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal's direction of introducing a nine-point grading system, the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has however openly condemned the new system, claiming it to be 'baseless'.

CISCE chairperson, Neil O' Brien is in no mood to follow the directive and says that, "Awarding grades instead of marks is absolutely not taken by us. Would the colleges and universities admit students on the basis of their grades in the school?"

His take on the issue stands on a valid point as he adds on, "Unless the universities start admitting students only on the basis of grade system and all the other school education boards also follow the path, there's no point in introducing it."

Today, approximately 1,600 schools are affiliated with CISCE while the majority lies with the CBSE with more than 9,000 schools under its affiliation.

The brouhaha over awarding marks instead of grades is also supported by the principals of ICSE schools in the NCR region.

Mrs. Anuradha Chopra, principal of Pragyan School, Greater Noida says, "It is a useless action to award grades in Class X and then again shifting the focus on giving marks in Class XII for college admissions."

"I stand in tandem with the ICSE chairman's views. The change is ought to be uniform, at all levels. Colleges should accept the grades while admitting Class XII students," said Mrs. Komal Sood, principal, Shri Ram School, Gurgaon.

source: indiaedunews.net