The good showing by schools in the Higher Secondary School examinations continued this year, with as many as 35 schools in Puducherry and Karaikal joining the 100 per cent pass club, compared to 26 schools last year. This includes the Government Higher Secondary School in Koodapakkam and five schools in Karaikal region.
“We had 535 students who appeared for their Class XII exams this year, compared to 514 last year. This is a large number and getting every student to pass is no small task. This is our seventh continuous year of getting 100 per cent pass percentage. This has not been achieved by including only students who do well. We have below average and slow learners among our students, whom we support well so they can pass. Also, 75 per cent of our students are from poor financial backgrounds. We want all our students to pass,” said S.A. Lourdusamy, founder and senior principal, Amalorpavam Higher Secondary School, Vanarapet.
“Many other schools have a high cut-off mark to admit students into Class XII. They keep out their own students if they do not have the required marks. In our school, we take everybody, irrespective of their marks. For instance, we admitted a student who only scored 271 marks in Class X. This time, he has scored 922 marks in Class XII. We take students with a poor academic record and coach them to ensure they pass as well. A lot of planning goes into this,” said C. Anandan, founder, Aditya Vidyashramam Higher Secondary School, Poraiyur.
“We are happy with the results and how schools have done. The pass percentage has been going up in the last four years. Even though only one government school got 100% pass percentage, 15 government schools have got more than 90%, which is quite good,” said E. Vallavan, Director of School Education, Puducherry Government. On complaints about schools disallowing students from taking their exams to ensure they get 100% pass percentage, Vallavan said such complaints are taken seriously and acted upon provided there is evidence.
“Last year, we got a complaint and the Directorate of School Education took up the issue with the school management and ensured the student was enrolled for the exams,” he said. “This year, we did not receive any such complaint,” he added.
