All Grace No Will
Here's an item from today's Daily Times:
PU grants five grace marks to MA English candidates
Staff Report LAHORE: The Punjab University vice chancellor Lt Gen (r) Arshad Mahmood approved five grace marks for the Master of Arts (MA) English Part-1 Annual Examinations 2004 candidates on Thursday. The grace marks were given in the papers of Poetry, Drama, Novel, Prose and American literature. The university also extended the MA English admission forms’ submission date to March 10. The marks were given after students of PU affiliated colleges’ protested the annual system claiming that PU’s students got higher marks because they followed the semester system while they were following the annual system.
Hang on. These guys want an extra five marks (grace marks) which are based, not on merit, but on the perception that other competing students had an unfair advantage. A 'grace mark' is a grade which is based on the concept of a favour (the "grace" of the grantor) rather than any talent or brilliance on the part of the person being marked. It is deplorable that the chief executive of the Province has deigned it fit to grant these additional marks for no good reason. So if there continues to be abominable poetry, drama, novels, prose and American literature (!) coming out of Pakistan we know who to blame.
Incidentally the concept of "grace marks" does not exist on encarta.com, brittanica.com, dictionary.com and other research sites. Yes, Google has some references, but these are primarily to a person - one Grace Marks who is the central figure in a novel by Margaret Atwood. The remaining Google references to grace marks refer principally to South Asia. Yet another useless concept which should be canned FORTHWITH.
Peace.
PU grants five grace marks to MA English candidates
Staff Report LAHORE: The Punjab University vice chancellor Lt Gen (r) Arshad Mahmood approved five grace marks for the Master of Arts (MA) English Part-1 Annual Examinations 2004 candidates on Thursday. The grace marks were given in the papers of Poetry, Drama, Novel, Prose and American literature. The university also extended the MA English admission forms’ submission date to March 10. The marks were given after students of PU affiliated colleges’ protested the annual system claiming that PU’s students got higher marks because they followed the semester system while they were following the annual system.
Hang on. These guys want an extra five marks (grace marks) which are based, not on merit, but on the perception that other competing students had an unfair advantage. A 'grace mark' is a grade which is based on the concept of a favour (the "grace" of the grantor) rather than any talent or brilliance on the part of the person being marked. It is deplorable that the chief executive of the Province has deigned it fit to grant these additional marks for no good reason. So if there continues to be abominable poetry, drama, novels, prose and American literature (!) coming out of Pakistan we know who to blame.
Incidentally the concept of "grace marks" does not exist on encarta.com, brittanica.com, dictionary.com and other research sites. Yes, Google has some references, but these are primarily to a person - one Grace Marks who is the central figure in a novel by Margaret Atwood. The remaining Google references to grace marks refer principally to South Asia. Yet another useless concept which should be canned FORTHWITH.
Peace.
posted by Uber Homme at 2:18 pm
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