India, March 30 -- Bengaluru, Mar. 30 - In a departure from decades old practise, the State Government has announced that from current academic year, SSLC students will not be awarded marks for third language subjects (Hindi, Urdu, Arabic etc.). Instead they will receive A,B,C and D grades.

Announcing the decision here on Friday, Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa said, "To reduce the academic pressure on SSLC students, the Karnataka Government has decided not to award marks for third language, including Hindi, in the final results. Instead, grading system will be followed for third language," adding that this is applicable to the ongoing exam too.

Till now, SSLC exam was conducted for 625 marks for six subjects...