New Delhi:  Girls continued to outshine boys in CBSE board exams for classes 10 and 12 while pass percentage and the number of students scoring above 90 and 95 per cent witnessed marginal increases from last year.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board exam results for classes 10 and 12 were announced on Monday.

The pass percentage in Class 10 stood at 93.60, a rise of 0.48 percentage points from last year. The pass percentage in the Class 12 exam saw a marginal increase of 0.65 percentage points from last year to 87.98.

CBSE officials attributed the rise in pass percentage to an increase in the number of competency-based questions in the exams this year.

A similar trend was witnessed in the number of students who scored above 90 per cent and 95 per cent marks.

In Class 12, a total of 1.16 lakh students scored above 90 per cent and 24,068 above 95 per cent. Among the students who scored above 90 per cent, 262 are from the Children With Special Needs (CSWN) category. Forty-three students from the CSWN category have scored above 95 per cent.

Last year, 1.12 lakh students scored above 90 per cent and 22,622 above 95 per cent.

In Class 10, more than 47,000 students scored above 95 per cent and over 2.12 lakh above 90 per cent. Last year, 1.95 lakh students scored above 90 per cent and 44,297 above 95 per cent.

The CBSE has announced that there will be no merit list to “avoid unhealthy competition”. Officials said the board has also decided to scrap awarding first, second and third divisions based on students’ scores.

“According to the earlier decision of the board to avoid unhealthy competition among students, the CBSE has not published the merit list. However, the board will issue merit certificates to 0.1 per cent of students who have scored the highest marks in the various subjects,” said CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj.

The CBSE also announced that it will conduct board exams for classes 10 and 12 for the 2024-25 academic session from February 15.

The 2024 board exams for classes 10 and 12 also began on February 15. These concluded in 28 and 47 days, respectively.

More than 1.32 lakh candidates have been placed in the supplementary category or compartment in Class 10 while the figure for Class 12 is more than 1.22 lakh.

The Trivandrum region recorded the highest pass percentage in both classes 10 and 12 at 99.91 and 99.75, respectively. The Prayagraj region reported the lowest pass percentage of 78.25 in Class 12 while Guwahati region recorded the lowest for Class 10 at 77.94.

In Class 12, schools under the Central Tibetan Schools Administration achieved the highest pass percentage at 99.23 while Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas recorded the highest pass percentage for Class 10 at 99.09.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated the students on their results and advised them to make an effective plan for higher studies.

“Heartily congratulate my young friends who have successfully cleared the CBSE Class X and Class XII examinations. While you cherish the success and enjoy the fruits of your labour, do also utilise this time to make an effective plan for higher studies. Wishing all a happy, healthy and bright future,” Pradhan said in a series of posts on X.

“To all my friends who have not met their expectations, don’t lose heart. All of you have it in you to overcome any challenge. I am sure your moment of glory is not far away. Keep hustling,” he added.

The supplementary exams for classes 10 and 12 will be conducted from July 15.

Based on National Education Policy – 2020 recommendations, the CBSE last year changed the nomenclature of the compartment examination to supplementary examination.

Bhardwaj said Class 12 students will be allowed to improve their performance in one subject in the supplementary examination. Class 10 students will be allowed to improve their performance in two subjects.

The official said, “Three categories of students will be eligible to appear in the supplementary examinations — Class 10 students who were unable to pass two subjects and Class 12 students unable to pass one subject and were placed in compartment category.” “….students who were declared pass by replacing sixth or seventh subject; and classes 10 and 12 students who were declared pass but wish to improve their performance in two and one subject respectively,” Bhardwaj added.