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&nbsp;Karachi:Confusion still persists with regards to the process of equating marks obtained by O and A level students, particularly those with &lsquo;A+&rsquo; grade, as the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) has yet to issue a clear decision. 
Students following the Cambridge International Examination (CIE) system are still roaming from pillar to post to get their equivalence certificates from the IBCC. CIE had introduced &lsquo;A+&rsquo; grade from this year, while earlier &lsquo;A&rsquo; grade was the highest rating awarded to the students. Meanwhile, the chairmen are offering 90 marks to the students who had secured &lsquo;A+&rsquo; grade in their respective exams while 85 marks are being offered against &lsquo;A&rsquo; grade. 
&ldquo;During the last meeting of IBCC held at Abbottabad, it was expected that a formal decision would be taken on basis of the recommendations of the sub-committee formulated to scrutinise this matter. The sub committee held its meeting in Lahore in the month of August this year but the matter did not have a final outcome,&rdquo; Chairman, Board of Intermediate Karachi (BIEK), Anwar Ahmed Zai told The News. 
&ldquo;The matter aggravated particularly when CIE, through the British Council, decided to award A+ grade to O-level students from the year 2010. Previously, this grade was not in the fold of the schedule of O level examination. The grades earlier were &lsquo;A&rsquo;, &lsquo;B&rsquo;, &lsquo;C&rsquo;, &lsquo;D&rsquo;, and &lsquo;E&rsquo;,&rdquo; he said. 
&ldquo;The revision of conversion formula for O and A levels was considered in at least four meetings of IBCC held on different occasions but every time the decision was deferred, although in the meeting of Inter-Provincial Education Ministers&rsquo; Conference, it was already agreed that if the British examination bodies were ready to print actual marks instead of standardised percentage on the certificates, the IBCC and Ministry of Education will consider the conversion of marks and for that purpose, a new schedule of conversion would be devised,&rdquo; he further said. 
The Committee constituted for this purpose had already recommended that &lsquo;A+&rsquo; candidates should be equated with 90 marks whereas &lsquo;A&rsquo; grade with 85, &lsquo;B&rsquo; grade as 75, &lsquo;C&rsquo; grade as 65, &lsquo;D&rsquo; as 55 and &lsquo;E&rsquo; grade should be equated to the extent of 45 marks respectively, Zai added. 
This formula was tagged with the condition that the British examination bodies through the British Council would be asked to start printing actual marks obtained by each student so that the same is considered for equivalence. 
&ldquo;It was further learnt that the British examination body has agreed to limit the number of students achieving &lsquo;A+&rsquo; grades. Furthermore they have also agreed to discontinue the printing of percentage or percentiles on their certificates after the introduction of &lsquo;A+&rsquo; grade,&rdquo; Zai added. 
It is further learnt that this situation is also creating problems for the students who intend to seek admissions to professional colleges. 
It is worth noting that the IBCC also could not reach any decision in its last meeting after President Asif Ali Zardari&rsquo;s directives for allowing 10 per cent marks to the scouts who took examination at Intermediate level. These directives were communicated to the IBCC through the Ministry of Education and National Organisation of Pakistan Scouts way back in September 2009