After a dismal showing by students in last year’s overall Class X results, Maharashtra’s cumulative pass percentage in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination results this year showed a dramatic improvement, rising to 95.30%.
In the results announced by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) on Wednesday, the State’s overall pass percentage improved by more than 18.20 percentage points as compared with last year’s overall SSC pass figure of 77.10% —- the lowest in a decade.
Also read: Maharashtra records 90.66% pass in HSC exams
This year’s pass percentage was also higher than 2018’s pass percentage figure of 89.41 as well as that of 2017, in which 88.47% students appearing had passed.
As with the Class XII results declared earlier this month, girls outclassed boys yet again, notching an impressive pass percentage figure of 96.91%. However, the boys’ group, too, performed creditably, posting a cumulative pass percentage figure of 93.90%.
In wake of the COVID-19 situation and the subsequent lockdown in the State, educational authorities had been compelled to scrap the Geography paper this year, with students being awarded average marks.
Wishing all successful students, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tweeted: “Congratulations to all students as you cross an important milestone of SSC exams and embark on the next stage of life’s journey. Even if the results haven’t been up to your expectation, don’t be disheartened as life is full of opportunities. My best wishes are with all of you.”
“This year’s SSC performance has seen a marked improvement with the overall pass percentage rising by more than 18 percentage points. As many as 8,360 schools have declared 100% results, while 20 of the total 60 subjects in the curriculum have seen 100% pass results. Despite the raging pandemic and the lockdown, we have managed to come out with the results after a delay of only a month-and-a-half,” said Shakuntala Kale, Chairperson, MSBSHSE.
A total 15,75,103 students — 7,89,309 boys and 7,11,796 girls — had appeared for the three-week long exam process this year, which commenced on March 3 and ended on March 23.
The total figure of students appearing this year was, however, lower as compared to the previous three years. Last year, as many as 16,18,602 students had appeared for the exams.
Apart from this, the division-wise results generally followed a remarkably similar pattern to the HSC results, with the Konkan division — where the lowest number of students appeared — recording the ‘highest’ pass percentage among the nine divisions in the State, clocking 98.77%.
The two most populous divisions — Mumbai and Pune — recorded robust pass percentages with Mumbai chalking 96.72% and Pune registering an impressive pass percentage figure of 97.34%.
Given the high overall pass percentage, even Aurangabad, which registered the ‘lowest’ pass percentage among the nine divisions, clocked a healthy 92%.