Predicted Grades for O, A Level Exams: English medium students seek govt intervention
A group of English medium students formed a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club yesterday to seek the government's intervention for the upcoming Ordinary and Advanced Level exams. The students urged authorities concerned to not hold the exams amid the pandemic, as it will put students in severe health risks.
They also urged the government to contact relevant authorities to make sure the students are graded based on their previous results, a process known as "predicted grades".
Earlier, educational boards that arrange the exams globally decided to not hold the exams for the May-June session due to the outbreak. Instead, they prepared results based on predicted grades and previous academic records submitted by schoolteachers.
In light of this, students in Bangladesh demanded the cancellation of the October-November exam session in Bangladesh, and asked for predicted grading instead, as they don't want a gap in their education, they said. The students have so far contacted Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury as well as other officials of the ministry, seeking their intervention.
"We want the government to intervene so that we are given predicted grades," said Nicholas Gomez, an A level examinee. "This is not a difficult task for the boards to accomplish if they have the will for it."
Alongside the human chain, the students had been staging a virtual movement on social media.
Contacted secondary and higher education secretary Mahbub Hossain said he is yet to receive any formal request from anyone about it, .
However, he said that British Council Bangladesh Director Tom Miscioscia met with him yesterday and discussed different aspects of the upcoming exams.
"He (Tom Miscioscia) said if anyone does not want to sit for the upcoming exams, they can take take it later," Mahbub said.
"There will no predicted grades for the exams," he added.
Two UK boards, Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) and Pearson's Edexcel, arrange O and Level exams internationally. British Council Bangladesh administers their exams in the country.
English-medium students can sit for these exams, either through schools or as private candidates. O-Level is equivalent to Secondary School Certificate of the national curriculum, and A-Level to Higher Secondary School Certificate.
A-level exams under Cambridge are scheduled to start from October 1, and from October 5 under Pearson. Pearson's O-level exams are set to start from November 2 and Cambridge's from November 5.
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