SSLC pass percentage drops in State

Mysuru Karnataka: 16 05 2016: N.S.Eeshu and her friends celebrate their success in the SSLC examination rsults which were announced on Monday. Marimallapa High School Principal Ms.Mangala Muddumadappa is also seen. PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM

In the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination, the State has recorded a pass percentage of 79.16, which is the lowest in the last two years.

Announcing the results on Monday, Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar said the results, conducted in March/April, had dipped by 2.66 per cent compared to the previous year. Of the 8.36 lakh students who appeared for the exam, 6.27 lakh have passed.

While the Minister attributed stringent measures taken to curb malpractices as reason for the decline in pass percentage, the department sources said the percentage dipped because lower grace marks were awarded this year.

Sources said that during a recent board meeting, it was decided to award lower grace marks to students. This is in contrast to last year when the department showered grace marks on those who were close to passing so that they could pursue higher studies. This had also helped increase the pass percentage, sources said.

Girls outshine boys

Like every year, girls fared better than boys (82.64 per cent and 75.84 per cent, respectively) and students from rural areas fared better than their urban counterparts (80.36 per cent and 77.63 per cent, respectively).

Sources attributed the dip in the government school pass percentage — which fell from 83.09 last year to 76.84 this year — to the delay in high school teacher recruitment. The last recruitment was in 2012 and the government has been appointing guest teachers to fill in for them, sources said.

District-wise

Bengaluru (Rural) district, which stood fifth last year, topped the list this year with a pass per cent of 89.63. This was followed by Udupi (89.52 per cent) and Mangaluru (88.01 per cent). Districts in north Karnataka continued to fare poorly. Ballari (56.68 per cent), Gadag (64.09 per cent), and Yadgir (68.57 per cent) were at the bottom.

On the turnaround of performance of Bengaluru Rural district, Deputy Director of Public Instruction of Bengaluru Rural Abdul Wajid said he had identified 33 schools in the district, which had below State average results last year, and each officer adopted such schools and monitored the situation. Students who were behind in academics were also given special coaching, he said.