The educational boards and curriculum councils have made the significant policy decision to eliminate the arts and science requirements for pupils who want to enroll in any intermediate group.

Students with a matriculation background in the arts can now enroll in ICS, pre-medical, and pre-engineering programs. According to sources who spoke with Dawn, the Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC) announced the decision during its 183rd meeting, which took place in Karachi a few days ago.

Another significant policy choice for O/A level students was made by the forum. Students will receive equivalency in the scientific group rather than the humanities if they pass two major topics at the O/A level.

The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) with a flexible selection of elective subjects was proposed as a replacement for the scientific and arts groups at the matriculation level.

However, as this would be discussed more in the future, a final decision on eliminating groupings at the matric level was not taken.

When contacted, IBCC Executive Director Dr. Ghulam Ali Mallah confirmed the two major decisions.

Yes, the IBCC Forum has made the decision to allow students to choose their preferred groups for first-year admission.

According to him, the forum also decided that O/A-level students who passed two major science subjects should be granted equivalency in the Science Group. He also mentioned that there was discussion about replacing science and arts groups at the matric level with a standardized SSC certificate that would allow all students to choose their own elective courses in addition to required subjects.

While outlining the reasoning behind these choices, Dr. Mallah claimed that many bright students' progress had been stopped because of some irrational barriers.

He said, "For instance, in any school in a remote part of the country, students could not study science due to a shortage of science teachers, so as per previous practice, they had no choice but to get admission in engineering, medical, and computer fields, which was a big injustice to them." He continued by saying that all fields are now open to everyone and that students who possess the potential, capability, and talent can pass pre-engineering and pre-medical at the inter level without studying these subjects at the matric level.

"The world is changing now, and changes are needed to help students grow," he stated.