The Kerala government has revised the norms for granting grace marks to SSLC and higher-secondary Plus-Two students who excel in extracurricular activities. The move comes after complaints that liberal granting of grace marks was affecting the admission prospects of meritorious students. The Principal Secretary issued the new order based on the Public Education Director’s recommendations for sweeping changes in the existing provisions.
Under the new guidelines, grace marks will be limited to a single event in which the student scores the maximum marks, regardless of participation in multiple co-curricular items. Furthermore, a student who has been awarded grace marks will not be entitled to bonus marks in the next level of admission.
Previously, a student could score 100% with the help of grace marks, leading to complaints that merit students were being upstaged by those receiving grace marks during admission, including at the Plus-One and Degree levels.
However, the Kerala government had restored the grace marks awarded to school students for their excellence in extracurricular activities a few months ago. According to the General Education Department, students can apply for grace marks from the 2022-23 academic year, after a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘The government decided to restore them with full-fledged extracurricular activities taking place during the current academic year,’ a spokesperson for the department said.
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