In a year when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)examinations were interrupted due to COVID-19, the pass percentage of Class 12 students was 5% higher than the previous year, with 88.8% of students passing the exam in comparison to 83.4% in 2019.
For papers that were cancelled due to the pandemic, marks were calculated on the basis of students’ performance in the completed papers, using an assessment scheme approved by the Supreme Court. Only a third of the 12 lakh candidates were able to complete all papers. No merit list of toppers was announced this year.
The results of 400 students could not be computed using the assessment scheme, and were not announced, the CBSE said in a statement.
Students who wish to improve their scores in papers that were cancelled will be allowed to write an optional examination, which will be held as soon as conditions are conducive, as determined by the Central government. Those results will be treated as final for those who take this option.
No “Fail”
The CBSE decided to avoid using the term “Fail” in any of the results sent to students or declared on its website, and has replaced it with the term “Essential Repeat”. Compartment examination schedules will also be announced later, in consultation with the Centre.
As has been the trend in recent years, girls performed better than boys with a 92% pass percentage this year. More than 86% of boys passed the exam.
Students from the southern region performed best in the exams, with Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru and Chennai all recording a pass percentage of more than 95%. More than 94% of Delhi students passed the examination, despite the fact that some students in north east Delhi wrote only one or two papers, due to violence in the area causing additional cancellations in February.