ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Tuesday agreed that there is serious discrimination against O and A Level students in the allocation of marks in equivalence certificates issued to them by the Inter-Board Committee of Chairman (IBCC).

Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education, which met with Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak in the chair, unanimously agreed that O and A Level students were facing discrimination in the allocation of marks, but the committee was unable to pass any recommendations in this regard due to its jurisdiction.

`This is injustice with students of O and A Level, State Minister for Education Balighur Rehman said.

However, the committee chairman af ter input from the committee secretary said the matter falls within the purview of the Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination, as the IBCC is a subsidiary to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination.

`We are referring this matter to the Standing Committee on IPC with our recommendations,` Mr Khattak said before winding up debate on the matter.

The issue was raised in the Senate through a calling attention notice by Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, and the upper house had referred it to the standing committee months ago. Briefing the committee, Ms Farooq said the IBCC issued equivalence certificates to students who passed their O and A Level exams and awarded just 90pc to students who had obtained A* grades.

She addedthaton the otherhand,students appearing in the Secondary School Certificate and Higher Secondary School Certificate exams held under various boards of intermediate and secondary education got over 95pc, or in some cases over 98pc.

She said brilliant students who had obtained A* grades received only 90pc in their equivalence certificate, which made them unable to compete with students who received over 90pc from various boards, during entry tests at universities and medical colleges.

`On the one hand students appearing in board exams get 98pc, and on the other, the IBCC gives only 90pc to the toppers of O and A Level exams. This step is making students receiving an education under a world class system less competitive,` she said, adding that she has been pleading this case for the last eight months.

Compulsory Teaching of the Holy Quran Bill 2017 The committee also passed a bill to make teaching the Holy Quran compulsory from grades one to 12 at all federal education institutions.

The bill has already been passed by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training and the National Assembly.

The bill will now be referred back to Senate, and after approval from the upper house and the president, will become an act of parliament.

The Compulsory Teaching of the Holy Quran Bill 2017, after approval from Senate, will be applicable in Islamabad, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and all institutes owners and controlled by the federal government wherever they may be.

It was presented before the committee by Mr Rehman, and passed after a brief discussion.

If approved by Senate, the bill would make teaching the Quran compulsory for all Muslim students at all public and private educational institutes in areas controlled by the federal government.

Students in grades one through five would be taught how to read the Quran, while grades six through 12 would also be provide with a simple translation and will be taughtaccordingto aschedule.

In grade six, students will be taught 5pc of the Quran, they will be taught 9pc in grade seven, 12pc in grade eight, 17pc in grade nine, 25pc in grade 10 and 15pc and 17pc in their first and second years, respectively.

-Kashif Abbasi