The Sindh government has decided to abolish the traditional number-based examination system across all educational boards in the province and has formally approved a new grading system for matriculation and intermediate examinations, which will be implemented in phases.
According to Sindh Minister for Universities Ismail Raho, students securing less than 40 percent marks will be considered failed under the new grading policy. He said that the long-standing number system used for examination results has been replaced with an internationally aligned grading system, in line with policy decisions taken at the federal level by the Inter Board Coordination Commission.
Ismail Raho stated that the implementation of the new grading system will be carried out gradually across the province. The system will be introduced from the first annual examinations of Class 9 and Class 11 (SSC-I and HSSC-I) in 2026, while it will be extended to the annual examinations of Class 10 and Class 12 (SSC-II and HSSC-II) in 2027.
Under the new system, students’ performance will be assessed through grades instead of marks. The grading scale includes A++ for 96 to 100 percent, A+ for 91 to 95 percent, A for 86 to 90 percent, B++ for 81 to 85 percent, B+ for 76 to 80 percent, B for 71 to 75 percent, C+ for 61 to 70 percent, C for 51 to 60 percent, D for 40 to 50 percent, and U for below 40 percent.
The minister further explained that the minimum passing threshold has been set at 40 percent, and students scoring below this level in any subject will be categorized as “U” or under-graded. Such students will be given the opportunity to reappear in the same subject to improve their performance.
He added that the primary objective of this reform is to ensure uniformity across educational boards nationwide. Once the grading system is fully implemented, the introduction of a GPA system will also be considered in the future. According to the minister, the Sindh government has formally approved this new education policy.
