Why do Indian educational institutes keep 33% passing marks? भारतीय शिक्षण संस्थान 33% उत्तीर्ण अंक क्यों रखते हैं?
Posted by MASTER VIKRANT ROHIN
Have you ever wondered why Indian educational institutes keep 33% passing marks? Why not 32, 34, 35 or even 50? 50 would have been more logical.
Has this thought ever come to your mind too? Why does it require a 33 percent mark to pass?
What is more interesting is that this requirement is the same in three countries in the Indian subcontinent – India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
There is a history behind everything, and this also has one. This is the colonial legacy set by the British Empire, which continued for centuries and is still going on.
Well, going back in history, the first matriculation exam was held in this subcontinent in 1858 under the British Raj. While checking scripts, officials were in dilemma over deciding on the passing criterion for students – should it be the same as that for British pupils or lower?
To clear the confusion, they consulted British lords. Back then, the pass mark in Britain was 65. They considered that the level of intelligence and intellect of our people was half of theirs, and thus set the pass mark at 32.5, which was half of 65.
This is how they used to look down upon us, and we still cannot come out of this colonial mentality.
THE INDIAN COUNCILS ACT 1861
Later in 1861, this 32.5 percent was rounded off to 33 percent to make calculations easier. Since then, no one ever questioned or made any attempt to change it.
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh adopted this criterion back then. Even after more than 150 years, they are still continuing this age-old taxonomy of evaluation in their education systems.
Even our public examinations are still held under the colonial system. They are memorization-centric.
We triumphed over the British Raj and freed ourselves from their exploitation through our indomitable movements, but we could not set our minds free from the shackles of imperialism which ended 150 years ago.
IT’S NOT A MATTER OF SHAME; WE INDIANS NEVER FEEL ASHAMED. IT IS A DIFFERENT MATTER THAT THE BRITISH USED TO THINK THAT INDIANS HAD HALF A BRITISH MIND, BUT WE NEVER THINK LIKE THAT, EVEN THOUGH MORE THAN HALF OF INDIAN STUDENTS FALL IN THIS CATEGORY.
WE ARE NOT SHAMELESS
Our people were never less intellectual, less bright, or less sharp than the white colonizers. Rather, our rich legacy of literature, expertise in trade and commerce, and civilization lured the British Empire to establish their colony here.
