Karnataka CBSE class 12 pass rate drops to 93.1%, a 3-yr low

Bengaluru: Karnataka produced an underwhelming performance with a pass percentage of 93.1 — a three-year low, and overall percentage dipping below the 95 mark — in Class 12 CBSE exams, whose results were announced on Wednesday.While Karnataka figures reflected the overall national trend, the state stood eighth in the country. The overall pass percentage in CBSE dropped 3.19% from the previous year’s 88.39%.The drop has been attributed to Central Board of Secondary Education’s new On Screen Marking (OSM) system for answer books, which doesn’t allow any leniency elbow room — a decades-old common practice during evaluation.In 2024, Karnataka was ninth in the country, with a pass percentage of 96.9. In 2025, it dropped to 95.95% and seventh position.While Lakshadweep secured 100% results, Goa clocked 96.38%. Kerala 95.61% and Tamil Nadu 95.25%, Mizoram 94.94%, Daman and Diu 93.86% and Andhra Pradesh 93.23%.As many as 22,386 students appeared for the exam in Karnataka. Of this, 20,861 students passed. The pass percentage of girls was 94.4% against 92% of boys. The state has 315 CBSE schools offering Class 12 education. Exams were held at 187 centres.Region wise, Bengaluru centre stood third, trailing Trivandrum (95.62%) and Chennai (93.84%).Schools attributed the drop to strict valuation in the new system. “It is a common practice among teachers to be lenient when it comes to answerscripts that are on the borderline. With digital evaluation, no moderation or grace happened,” said Manila Carvalho, principal, Delhi Public School East.“I took part in valuation, and this is possibly the strictest yet. It is not about toppers, but those who are at the bottom. Usually, there is a case-to-case consideration by teachers. It was absent this time as the digital valuation gave no leeway,” said a teacher.Across schools, Physics saw a lot of heartbreak. Many students saw a drop in Maths score too. “We’ll offer comments only after checking the photocopy. Students couldn’t score well in applied Maths too,” said the principal of a prominent school.