The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) results were announced on Friday, ending days of anxiety for class XII students. The overall pass percentage, 81, recorded a marginal increase of 0.09 over last year.
This year, 6,37,578 students — 2,64,248 girls and 373,330 boys — appeared for the exam in the country and abroad. Girls fared better than boys with a pass percentage of 85.94 as compared to 77.40 for boys.
Ajmer secured a pass percentage of 86.93, Panchkula 81.20, Delhi 84.25, Guwahati 64.01, Chennai 92.06 and Allahabad 74.56.
Tanvi Aggarwal, a student of Apeejay School, Faridabad, topped the CBSE with 98.4%. She studied commerce with mathematics. Tanvi scored full marks (100) in three subjects — economics, accountancy and mathematics. “I used to study six to seven hours a day,” she said.
Mrittika Sen, a student of Raj Hans Vidyalaya in Mumbai, also scored 98.4% to top the science stream.
“I was shocked when my principal called up to inform that I was the Delhi topper,” Subhashish Bhadra of DPS RK Puram School said. Bhadra scored 98%. His subject combination was science and economics.
“I want to pursue a honours degree in economics from SRCC or St Stephens, New Delhi,” he said. Bhadra is not the only topper who wants to study economics. Prachi and Palak, who scored above 90%, have similar goals.
As many as 15,839 students scored 90% or above, which is double the 2008 figure. Last year, 8,253 students scored 90% or above. A total of 8,059 girls and 7,780 boys in the six zones for which results have been announced scored 90% or above, while 1,020 scored 95%.
Students from Gulf countries outperformed Indians, recording a whopping 93.23 pass percentage. The overall pass percentage in the region recorded a marginal increase of 0.63 over last year.
This year, too, SC/ST students performed exceptionally well. Last year, SC students’ pass percentage (81.33) was more than that of general students (81.44). This year, general category students left behind SC candidates by just one per cent. Their pass percentage was 81.51 compared to 80.75 for SCs.
Disabled children did not lag behind. Eleven disabled students secured above 90%. A total of 1,034 students with disabilities — 225 blind, 35 deaf, 564 physically-handicapped, 12 spastic and 225 with dyslexia — appeared for the exam. Of them, 916 passed and 11 scored above 90%.
Meanwhile, the CBSE has started counselling for students through its tele-helpline and website. Counselling will be on till June 3. “My phone has been ringing since morning. Students are calling for advice on what subjects they should opt for. Those who have failed are interested in knowing the dates for the compartmental exams,” Vijay Sehgal, a counsellor, said.
