Class X topper Swayam Das from St Mary’s School scored 99.4% in ICSE. (Express Photo)
THREE MUMBAI students have emerged as toppers in the ICSE and ISC exams, the results of which were announced on Monday. While a Koparkhairane boy is the top scorer in the Class X (ICSE) exams across the country and abroad, two top rank holders in the Class XII exam (ISC) are from Mumbai.
Swayam Das, a student of St Mary’s School in Koparkhairane, topped the ICSE exam with 99.4 per cent. ISC students Abhijnan Chakraborty, from Lilavatibai Podar High School in Santacruz (West), and Tansa Shah, from St Cathedral and John Connon School in Fort, topped in the country with a score of 99.5 per cent.
Keeping up with the trend of high scorers in the city, seven Class X students from Mumbai feature in the top three list, which is almost half the number of all the top scorers in the country and abroad. Three Class XII students from the city have made it to the list of top three rank holders among a total of 27 candidates.
“Almost 59 per cent of our students have scored over 90 per cent. Of the 270 students who took the Class X and XII exams, 58 have secured over 95 per cent. Our overall average performance is 90 per cent, which means students have performed outstandingly well,” said Zeenat Bhojabhoy, the principal of Jamnabai Narsee School.
Students in Maharashtra have fared considerably better than the national average, according to figures from the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). Across the country, 1.83 lakh students took the Class X board exams this time and 98.51 per cent of them were successful. In the state, over 18,000 students took the exam and 99.79 per cent of them passed. In Class XII, Maharashtra recorded a pass percentage of 97.9 compared to a national average of 96.21.
“Subject-wise, there has been no change in performance. But we are yet to go through the data completely. This time, the number of students who secured more or equal to 90 per cent has dipped slightly. Last year, we had 239 students who had secured more or equal to 90 per cent out of 606 students, which is 39 per cent. But this year, we have 230 students, or 38 per cent, out of 598 students (ICSE),” said Norina Fernandes, the principal of Lilavati Podar School.
The pass percentage has remained almost the same as last year’s. This year, the CISCE reduced its pass percentage for ICSE
students from 35 to 33 per cent, in line with a directive from the Human Resource Development ministry. The pass percentage of ISC students has dropped from 40 to 35 per cent.
Meet the toppers
ICSE Rank: 1
Name: Swayam Das
Score: 99.4%
With a perfect 100 in Maths, History and Computer Sciences, the 15-year-old Koparkhairane resident has emerged as the all-India topper in ICSE exams. Inspired by his scientist father, Swayam plans to pursue a career in pure sciences and aims to secure a seat at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Swayam attributed his success to consistent practice. “I also solved a lot of practice papers and that helped,” he said.
ISC Rank: 1
Name: Tansa Shah
Score: 99.5%
The Humanities student had not expected to be one of the toppers in the country. “I worked hard and had expected good scores but this has come as a surprise,” said Tansa whose parents are doctors. The 18-year-old law aspirant has already taken the entrance exam to a law course and is awaiting results. “When I opted for Humanities, some of my friends and family members were surprised. There is a perception that Humanities subjects are marks-fetching but offer few employment avenues. But I was genuinely interested in the subjects and thought that they would help me with a career in law,” she said.
ISC Rank: 1
Name: Abhijnan Chakraborty
Score: 99.5%
The 17-year-old topper in the Science stream wants to pursue a career in research in Chemistry. Brought up by his mother, Abhijnan is especially thankful to her for support and encouragement. “My mom is a single parent and she is a businesswoman. She did not expect me to become a national topper but had wanted me to be a state or a city topper. She has supported me throughout,” he said. Abhijnan is now applying to colleges abroad. “I have not decided on the colleges but I am trying mostly in the UK and also some parts of Europe and Australia,” he said.
With inputs from Rachel Varghese & Anushka Jain
Follow The Indian Express Coverage on Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018. For live coverage, live expert analysis and real-time interactive map, log on to IndianExpress.com