Students who fail the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) tests can now pursue pre-diploma courses in both technical and non-technical categories.

The Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) opened admission in various pre-diploma courses targeting non-graded students. Students failing to secure a minimum of 1.60 Grade Point Average (GPA) are categorised as non-graded and thus ineligible to study grade 11. However, they can now pursue several pre-diploma courses, opening the door for higher studies, mainly in technical subjects.

The council, making a public call on Wednesday, opened admission to 25 different pre-diploma courses. Students can choose two pre-diploma courses in hotel management, three in agriculture and animal husbandry, 17 in engineering, and one each in social mobilisation, internship development, and computer application and secretariat management. All the courses span 18 months.

“The council has revised the admission directives [to allow the non-graded to study pre-diploma courses],” reads the admission notice.

Students clearing pre-diploma courses are eligible to study the diploma courses that are equivalent to grade 12.

As many as 242,313 students—52.13 percent of the total examinees—had been categorised as non-graded in the SEE results published the last week of June. The number of total examinees stood at 464,785.

Earlier, only those who were non-graded in a maximum of two subjects were eligible to take such examinations.

This criteria was later changed and a decision was made allowing students who received non-graded in up to seven subjects or those who were absent in the regular exams to take the grade improvement exam.

For the first time, the education ministry under Sumana Shrestha allowed all the non-graded students to sit for supplementary tests.

Of the 210,321 who appeared in the grade increment test, 119,425 were graded, becoming eligible to study grade 11. Of them were 56,702 boys, 62,721 girls, and two in the ‘others’ category.

Over 35,000 non-graded students didn't wish to take the supplementary tests held in August.

As many as 122,888 non-graded students will be benefited from the decision to allow them to study the pre-diploma course.

The eighth amendment to the Education Act restructured schools to include classes from early childhood to Grade 12 as part of the school level. However, the Grade 10 exam continues in the same format as the previous School Leaving Certificate exams.

Amid high failure rate at SEE, the incumbent KP Sharma Oli government has announced that it is working to ensure that 70 percent students graduate the grade 10 examinations. The upcoming tests will be held in March next year.