The differing rates of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) to percentage conversion have led to considerable confusion and disappointment among the students from Andhra Pradesh.
After the University of Delhi (DU) released its first cut-off list for the academic session 2019-20, over 500 students from Andhra Pradesh made their way to the capital to seek admissions in prestigious colleges of their choice. These students graduated from schools that subscribe to the Board of Intermediate Education of Andhra Pradesh (BIEAP). Due to the changes implemented by the BIEAP with regard to their marking structure this year, students were caught in the midst of extreme confusion on the day of their admissions.
This year, the BIEAP decided to release board results in the CGPA format, instead of the commonly used percentage format. The percentage format is also preferred by national level boards such as the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). Due to its common use, DU also subscribes to the same format and hence releases cut-offs as percentages.
Before coming to Delhi, students belonging to the Andhra Pradesh Board were under the impression that their CGPA would be multiplied with 10% in order to determine their percentage. For example, a student scoring a 9.6 CGPA would have a score of 96%. This was also the official position of the BIEAP with respect to the method of conversion. However, DU is still considering the standard conversion rate of multiplying CGPA scores with 9.5%.
When students visited colleges on the 28th and 29th July to complete their admission process, they were subjected to the University conversion rate due to which a lot of students were unable to take admissions. According to the University rate, even students scoring the maximum CGPA score which is a 10 would only have 95%. A score of 95% is lower than what is required to get admission into some of the best colleges in DU.
Aikyatha, the Telugu Students’ Association of DU, has appealed to the Resident Commissioner (RC), Andhra Pradesh Bhavan on behalf of the students. The office of the RC has reached out to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the Vice Chancellor’s office to fix an official conversion rate so students can start taking admissions soon. They expressed that, “The saddest part is that these students came all the way to Delhi to pursue education by leaving their IIT and NIT ranks. The trend for graduating from DU is increasing year by year.”
In response to the problem, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to give students access to their statement of marks via an official link. Earlier, students only received their CGPA’s. With their statement of marks, they can approach the Andhra Bhawan where they can update their marks in the official University portal. With scores of individual subjects being made available to them, students can now determine their percentage easily in the format suitable to the University.
However, representatives of the Aikyatha expressed that, “The problem is that students are not aware of the statement of marks.” Spreading information about this development is proving to be difficult as the organization will never know whether all the students are fully aware. Subsequent groups will also travel to Delhi after the second cut-off is released and the use of the statement of marks will have to be communicated to them as well.
Feature Image credits: DNA India
Pragati Thapa