In Pakistan, most students opt for CAIE O level and A level examinations instead of local exams. For the past 10 years, this trend has skyrocketed to the point where almost all the private- and some public- schools offer O levels, IGCSE, and A levels only. The quality of education may be excellent, but recently Cambridge Assessment International Education has faced a lot of backlash. 

In the past 5 years, there has been a sharp drop in top grades and understandably, unexpectedly poor results are difficult to accept. Many students who had obtained high grades in IGCSE and O level exams ended up with disappointing grades in their A Levels- sometimes even in the same subjects. Nearly half of A-level students in some subjects end up with a different grade because of examiners, according to research from regulator Ofqual. Research from the body reported in The Sunday Times found that just half of results in essay-based subjects are “definitive,” meaning that different examiners would agree on the grade a student should receive.

According to reports published by The Telegraph (UK), the cause of claimed “incorrect” results are caused by a shortage of qualified markers topped with the struggle to get results delivered in time. Unless exam boards give 80% of their marks to Ofqual by early July, they face severe sanctions, including public naming and shaming. Therefore in such haste, there is a very high chance that your marked grade wasn't accurate. In 2014, record levels of appeals were lodged against IGCSE, O level and A Level results, and 45,500 grades were changed – forming an unsettling trend.

With so many of these reports floating on the internet, it's no shock that students getting a lower grade than expected would want a recheck and remark. However,

• the extremely high cost of getting a recheck makes several students unable to make a request, thus they are forced to accept the unjust and unfair grade that they receive. Specially in a poor country like Pakistan, where the majority of people come from middle to low income families, many people are unable to pay such high cost just for the mere possibility of getting a higher grade.
• the probability that your grade decreases instead of increasing is enough to shatter the confidence of many students, even if they believe they deserved a higher grade. This is made worse by the fact that if your grade does decrease, you are stuck with the new grade and cannot choose whether you want to keep your original grade or the new one. Imagine paying such a large amount of money, only to have your grade made worse- it's utterly unacceptable! 

I urge Cambridge Assessment International Education, and all the institutions and organisations who can make a difference, to take action on this issue and help resolve it. A reduction in the costs of a remark and the removal of the possibility of grades decreasing after a recheck will help immensely and boost the confidence and trust of students in CAIE. If proper action is not taken, students unable to afford remarks or retakes will continue suffering. Our future depends on these grades, please take this plea seriously.