Representative image showing a student writing an exam.
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Bengaluru: Stakeholders, including private school managements, have raised objections to the letter by the Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti on lowering the pass marks for SSLC and PUC.
According to them, the Chairman was well-aware of the demand for reforms, and he had even participated in the seminar organised by the Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka to discuss the topic.
It can be recalled that Horatti on Wednesday wrote to School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa requesting to restore the previous minimum passing marks. In response, the minister stated that it was not his personal decision, but the one arrived at on the basis of public opinion. "It benefits lakhs of students from the state board schools as CBSE and ICSE boards already follow 33% marks as standard," the minister said.
Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools, which represents the private schools in the state affiliated to state board has demanded Horatti to withdraw his statement.
In a letter to Horatti, the Association said, "You were the one who inaugurated the round table organised to discuss various issues including injustice caused to state board students compared to the other boards since the pass marks for the latter is fixed at 35. After the discussion, you wrote to chief secretary requesting to correct the discrepancies and the injustice caused to state board students. Your recent statement is against your own stand and has created confusion among stakeholders," the letter said.