Mumbai: The overall pass percentage registered a dip in the results to the Class XII exam conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class released on Sunday. Though more students appeared for the exams nationally this year, the pass percentage fell to 82.02% from 83.05%. In Mumbai, schools reported slightly lower grades this time, although the pass percentage for the Chennai region, under which Mumbai falls, is 92.6%, close to last year’s 92.63%.
The reason, said Avnita Bir, principal, R.N. Podar Shool, could be the board’s methods to prevent inflated marking. “Over the past few years, we have seen marks going through the roof across the country and across boards. Percentages regularly touch 97% to 99%. This year’s lower scores are likely a corrective measure by the Board, and I hope other Boards, whose results are due soon, will also follow suit,” she said.
The national topper was Raksha Gopal of Amity International School, Noida, with 99.6% in the Humanities stream. Among those who topped in Mumbai were R.N. Podar School’s Samika Anand (98%, Science), Amay Mehrishi and Sahil Bagwe with (97%, Commerce) and Apeejay School Nerul’s Kashish Solanki (97.4%, Commerce).
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“I have always wanted to top my school, and I am really happy I did it,” Samika Anand said. “I wanted to experience this happiness at least once. Everyone said I could do it if I tried, and today I feel I actually can.”
Ms. Solanki said she was relieved. “I put in all my effort, and the results show it. I have had an amazing day. After opting for Commerce in Class XI, I have grown to like the subject for its real-world applications. I want to stress that one should focus on interests, not just being a topper. It feels great, but should not be an aim.”
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Many CBSE students spoke of pressure to do well in the Joint Entrance Exam for engineering courses at the IITs. The CBSE exams ended on March 27 and the JEE exam began on April 2. “It was hectic and the short gap made it even more scary,” said Amaan Nizam, a student at R.N. Podar School. Though the syllabi were similar, the lack of a sufficient time gap and intensive JEE coaching classes caused stress, students said. “One should focus on NCERT (National Council of Education Research and Training) material as much as possible, which will prepare students for both CBSE and JEE,” said Aniket Raj, a Rajhans Vidyalaya student.