Sangay Choden, who passed Class XII in 2004, said it was her high marks in Commerce that decided her admission in a good college. “It helped my percentage go up,” she said.

But that was long ago. The subject that gives the stream its name is facing a major identity crisis.

And the Royal University of Bhutan’s ability rating for admissions to tertiary institutes is the villain here.

Even if a student fetches 100 marks or 40 in Commerce, there is no difference. The rating remains the same - the lowest - whereas other subjects like Accountancy and Business Mathematics are given the top rating of five.

That means, if a student gets 45 in Mathematics, his marks would multiply by five: he gets 225 marks in his ability rating. If he gets the 45 marks in Commerce, the score is multiplied into one: his ability rating remains just 45.

Interestingly, when ability rating was introduced by RUB in 2005, the committee did not have a Commerce expert, BT found.

“I don’t think they should come up with the grievances now. They should have made it clear when the criteria were being deliberated upon,” said an RUB source.

What are students thinking?

Even though different higher secondary schools in the country are making an effort to educate students on ability rating in their own little ways, most students BT talked to said they are not aware of the rating.

“Commerce is my favorite subject and because it is theoretical I can score more marks,” said Menuka Rai, a commerce student at Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School (YHSS). And no, she wasn’t aware of the ability rating according to her.

Private schools like Nima Higher Secondary School and Ugyen Academy hold regular interactions with students to sensitize them on the tricks behind ability rating.

Commerce teachers concerned

Most of the Commerce teachers BT talked to said the weightage given to the subject is negligible.

 “It is a serious concern among us,” said Sangay Gurung, a Commerce teacher from Ugyen Academy.

According to him, apathy for the subject has already started creeping. “Even the teachers have started neglecting the subject because of the minimal weightage given to it,” he said.

A commerce teacher from Yangchenphug Higher Secondary school said every subject has its own relevance and equal importance should be given to all subjects.

 “Just the fact that Commerce has been given the rating of one shows that it no longer holds any importance,” said Jigme Wangchuk.

Sanjay Gurung said when students neglect Commerce it also affects their language. “Though theoretical, Commerce is the foundation for Accountancy,” he said.

Some teachers said that if students neglect Commerce they will find it difficult later when they go for B.Com or Bachelor of Business Administration as Class XII Commerce lays the basics.

“How can we encourage students to study Accountancy and neglect Commerce when they are so interlinked?” asked Sangay Gurung.

Ram Ki, the head of department for Commerce in Kelki Higher Secondary School, said they have been approaching the authorities but no action has been taken.

“This is no justice. Commerce should at least get a rating of three,” he said.

And those who disagreed

But few educationalists said that a student’s marks in Commerce did not reflect his ability in the stream.

“We found that students usually flunked their exam or leave half way the course despite the fact that they did very well in the Class XII examinations,” said Lhatu Jamba, the director of Gedu College of Business Studies.

He said they traced the problem back to students scoring unusually high marks in Commerce and very low marks in Business Mathematics and Accountancy.

“Business Mathematics and Accountancy are more important when it comes to students pursuing Bachelor of Business Administration and B.Com Honors,” he said.

There are 525 BBA students in Gedu College which will admit 373 more students for B.com Honors and BBA this year.

“We want our students to finish their studies successfully without wasting their time and without wasting our effort,” said Lhatu Jamba.

C.M Chhetri, the principal of Nima Higher Secondary School, also agreed that the present ability rating was appropriate. “With the ability rating, the right person is placed in a right place. There will be no mismatch,” he said.