O and A level students' marks will not be deducted during equivalence.

Byline: Safdar Rizvi

Owing to the coronavirus situation in the country and the subsequent lockdown which resulted in the disruption of studies, the Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) - a body responsible for granting equivalence to foreign qualifications with corresponding Pakistani Certificates - has temporarily suspended the rule of deducting 15% from the total marks obtained By: O and A level students wishing to pursue their studies in Pakistani higher educational institutions.

The decision was taken to protect Pakistani students affiliated with foreign examination conducting bodies from discrimination when granting equivalence to June 2020 examination results. However, to maintain transparency, a three-year record of students' academic performance has been sought from the Cambridge Assessment International Examination, the International Baccalaureate (IB), and the American System of Education, among others.

The IBCC's Steering Committee, chaired By: Dr Shehzad Jeeva, recently held a meeting where the decision was taken. Per sources, letters have also been written to the relevant foreign bodies that conduct international examinations in Pakistan.

According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, in a meeting held on May 21, the IBCC's Steering Committee decided that in keeping with the Covid-19 situation and the subsequent halt of academic sessions and exams, there should be a uniform policy for foreign-affiliated, matriculation and intermediate examinations students so that they could smoothly transition to colleges and institutes of higher education in Pakistan.

The decision was taken because earlier, Cambridge, IB, and other foreign educational institutions decided to cancel the May/June 2020 examinations across the globe...