Tribal students shine as state EMRS Class XII pass rate jumps to 81.7%

Bhubaneswar: Tribal students of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in Odisha significantly improved their pass rate in Class XII exams, the results of which were announced by CBSE on Wednesday, by almost 15% points this year, with three schools registering remarkable progress. The pass rate rose from 66.53% in 2024-25 to 81.7% in 2025-26, the ST and SC development department stated on Thursday.Among the students, Avinash Alam, a day scholar of EMRS Karanjia in Mayurbhanj district, topped with 94.2% in science. Earlier this year, Alam was among the 11 toppers across EMRS in the state who qualified for JEE Mains (Phase 1) and he scored the highest NTA percentile of 97.5 among them.Pranati Patro, joint director of Odisha Model Tribal Education Society that manages these schools, said that 14 out of 19 EMRS schools improved their pass percentage this year, while the number of students passing the examination increased from 680 to 833.Among all schools, EMRS Rampilo in Jajpur district registered the highest improvement. The school’s pass percentage soared from 42.1% last year to 98.93% this year, marking a massive rise of 56.83% points. The principal of the school, Ambika Padhi, said 60 students appeared for both science and humanities, and except one student who was placed in compartment, the rest cleared the examination. “Last year, we identified all slow learners and they were given special focus through extra and remedial classes throughout the year,” he said.EMRS Dumerbahal in Balangir district posted the second-highest improvement, with its pass percentage climbing from 36.6% to 87.5%, an increase of 50.9% points. Similarly, EMRS Lahunipara in Sundargarh district also made remarkable progress, improving from 41.18% last year to 84.9% this year, a jump of 43.72% points.Patro said the improved performance reflects focused academic monitoring, remedial classes and better mentoring support provided to students across EMRS institutions in the State. “Special focus was given to timely completion of syllabus, regular academic review meetings, and conduct of pre-board examinations to provide adequate practice and exam exposure to students,” she added.EMRS Ranki in Keonjhar district achieved a 100% pass result this year, becoming the only school in the State’s EMRS network to secure a perfect score. The number of schools recording 90% to 99% pass percentage also increased from three last year to five this year. The data further revealed a sharp decline in the number of essential repeaters, which dropped from 152 to 74. The number of compartmental students also reduced from 190 to 112.However, not all schools recorded improvement. EMRS Mahasingi in Kandhamal district saw the steepest decline, with its pass percentage dropping from 98.3% to 81.81%. A total of 1,019 students appeared for the Class XII examination this year across 19 EMRS schools in Odisha, of which 833 students passed.