ICSE, ISC results: Mumbai boy is ICSE India topper; city, state outperform India

Seven of the 13 top three rankers in the Class 10 Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) exam from across India, and six of the 49 toppers in the Class 12 Indian School Certificate (ISC) exam are from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). There are 13 top three rankers as some of the students have the same marks.

The results of the ICSE and ISC examinations, announced on Monday, showed that both Mumbai and Maharashtra outperformed the rest of the country this year too. The state recorded a pass percentage of 99.79% in the ICSE exams, and 97.90% in the ISC exams — higher than the national pass rates of 98.51% and 96.21%. Swayam Das, from Navi Mumbai’s St. Mary’s ICSE School topped the ICSE examination at the national level, with a score of 99.4%.

Abhijnan Chakraborty from Lilavatibai Podar School in Santacruz, Tansa Shah from Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort, and five other students stood first in the ISC examination, scoring 99.5%.

“It seems unreal. After I learnt that I have topped, the first thing that came to my mind was a statement by my class teacher, who said I had the calibre to earn a national rank,” Das said. He said he had to put in greater effort in Hindi as it is not his primary language, and due to which he struggled with grammar and sentence formation. He eventually scored 95 out of 100 in the subject.

Abhijnan Chakraborty (in pic) from Lilavatibai Podar School, Santacruz, scored 99.5% and stood first in the ISC exams, along with Tansa Shah from Cathedral and John Connon School. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Chakraborty, who scored 98 in English, said he did not expect to top at the national level. “I focused on studies, but never compromised on sports,” he said. He intends to become a scientist and focus on research. Shah intends to pursue law. “I didn’t take tuitions, and studied by myself,” Shah said. “I would focus on whatever was taught in school and revise after coming back home.”

The state’s overall success rate, however, has dipped slightly, despite the cut-off scores to pass the ICSE examination being lowered to 33% from 35%, and to 35% from 40% for the ISC examination.

Of the 18,975 students who took the ICSE examination in Maharashtra, 99.79% passed. Last year, 0.02% more students had cleared the test. Similarly, the passing percentage for ISC examination, taken by 2,529 students, dropped from 98.71% to 97.9%. However, city schools insist that there has been an improvement in the scores this year, with more students scoring above 90%. “This year’s results are better than the previous years. When the council changed the passing percentage, the teachers changed their strategy and prepared the students accordingly,” said Zeenat Bhojaboy, principal, Jamnabai Narsee School, Vile Parle. According to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts the two tests, the lowering of cut-off percentage was aimed at bringing about a close uniformity with other boards in the country.