CISCE Adopts Lower Passing Marks For ICSE and ISC From 2019

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has decided to simmer down the stress levels ahead of the board exams for class 10th and 12th, by revising its passing assessment criteria.

The board has stated that the revision is aimed ‘to bring about homogeneity with the other education boards of the country’. Under CBSE presently, 33 marks is the threshold to clear both the Class X and the Class XII boards.

The change in the passing mark criteria shall be effective from the academic year (2019) onwards.

However, in an official letter addressed to the Heads of all Council Affiliated Schools, Chief Executive and Secretary Gerry Arathoon has decided to implement the same rule in the Internal examinations from the academic year 2018-2019 onwards.

There are almost over 2,100 schools in India and abroad which are affiliated to the CISCE.

According to the new rules, proposed passing marks for ICSE board examinations (Grade 10th) shall be 33% against 35% (previously). Likewise, for ISC board exams (Grade 12th), students have to score 35% instead of 40% to pass the exams.

Change of Pass Marks Criteria for the ICSE, ISC Examinations from the Year 2019 onwards

The decision to change the pass mark criteria was recommended by the Inter-Board Working Group (IBWG). The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations was working with Ministry of Human Resources Development and with members from other examination boards from across the country. The CISCE, established in 1958, is a private Board of School education in India at the national level. It conducts the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and the Indian School Certificate (ISC) examinations for Class X and Class XII respectively.

The newly proposed minimum pass marks for Class 10th and 12th board exams will be applicable from the academic session 2018-2019 and would impact the students appearing in the ICSE & ISC Boards Exams in the year 2019.The ICSE and ISC Board Exams 2018 date sheet is delayed due to elections in Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Karnataka and CISCE is waiting for the declaration of the poll dates by the Election Commission of India after which the date sheet shall be released.

Last year, the CBSE Board Examinations were delayed by 9 days due to elections in 5 states of Manipur, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand. In 2018, however, the board officials from both CBSE and CISCE have assured all students and parents that the examinations shall not be delayed but rather re-scheduled to put up with elections in these 4 states.

The decision to implement the new passing grade threshold may bring relief to many ICSE and ISC students. However, it is important to acknowledge the fact that every board has its own syllabus, pattern and difficulty level. The board should consider these differences before bringing uniformity in the passing criteria. It is also worth noting that all the boards follow a different curriculum across the nation.

We would love to have your opinion on this. Do you think bringing uniformity among all education boards is a good idea? Do let us know in the comments section below.

Regarding the delay in the date sheets, do you think it is justified to prioritize politics over education? Because it’s not just the board papers, students have tons of exams lined up to prepare for, especially after the 12th.