CBSE Class XII: UP pass rate dips 2.9% to 77.2%

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh recorded a pass percentage of 77.2% in the CBSE Class XII results declared on Wednesday, marking a 2.9 percentage point drop from last year’s 80.1%. In 2024, UP had a pass percentage of 79.1%.Like last year, UP remained a low performer this year too. With 77.2%, UP was ahead of Bihar (74.5%) and Odisha (76.8%) but trailed states like Madhya Pradesh (79.43%), Tripura (79.2%) and Arunachal Pradesh (78.6%).Kerala and Tamil Nadu were top-performing states with a pass percentage of 95.61% and 95.25%.Girls once again outperformed boys, with 83.3% clearing the exams compared to 72.8% boys.Category-wise, 80.1% of candidates from the general category passed the examination. The pass percentage among SC stood at 74.1%, ST at 77.2% and OBC at 74.3%.According to a CBSE official from Lucknow, poor pupil-teacher ratio and lack of emphasis on education were the reasons for poor performance.“I feel there is much that the state can do to improve performance. We need more teachers and resources such as textbooks, technology and better technology that can help kids to learn and perform well in exams,” he said.Language barriers, he added, may also be a challenge for UP students, particularly those who are not proficient in English or Hindi.CBSE has this time implemented On Screen Marking (OSM) for evaluation of Class XII answer books. The key benefits of OSM include maintenance of secrecy, error-free evaluation, complete assessment, reduced human intervention, transparency and accountability.According to the earlier decision of the board to avoid ‘unhealthy competition’ among students, no merit list was declared by the CBSE. Also, the board is not awarding first, second, or third divisions to students, a press release issued by CBSE controller of examinations, Sanyam Bhardwaj, said.“However, the board will issue the merit certificate to 0.1% of the students who scored the highest marks in the subjects,” the release said.At least 3.79 lakh students, including 2.2 lakh boys and 1.59 lakh girls, registered for Class XII exams from 3,761 schools in the state. Of these, 3.75 lakh (2.17 lakh boys and 1.58 lakh girls) appeared and 2.90 lakh (1.58 lakh boys and 1.31 lakh girls) cleared the exams.