Private schools want SSLC pass marks reduced to 33

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Private Schools Association has urged the Karnataka Government to reduce the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) pass marks from the current 35 marks to 33. In a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the association demanded that the pass mark criteria be aligned with other education systems. It pointed out that the CBSE and ICSE schools follow a pass mark of 33 out of 100, and stressed that the state board and Kannada medium schools also implement the same.

A meeting was held with the Department of Education to discuss this proposal, but no action has been taken so far, it stated. Association president Basavaraj Horatti has also written to the Education Department to enforce the changes. Moreover, in CBSE and ICSE schools, internal assessments that contribute up to 20 marks are considered in the final tally.

However in the state curriculum, a student needs 35 marks to pass the exam and it does not give full weight to internal assessments, which creates a disparity. This inconsistency has led to higher pass rates in CBSE schools, leading to most parents preferring to enrol their children in CBSE schools, thus leaving Kannada medium and state board schools. The association has urged the state board to adopt a similar approach to ensure a fair treatment to students.