Girls Shine in CISCE Board Exams, Toppers' Names Withheld
New Delhi: Girls once again outshone boys in the Class 10 and Class 12 board exams conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, the results of which were announced on Monday. While the pass percentage for both the classes recorded an increase, the council refrained from disclosing the names of toppers, aiming to deter “unhealthy competition” among students. This aligns the CISCE with other boards like the CBSE and those of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, which also withheld the identities of board exam toppers.
“We have discontinued the practice of issuing merit lists for board exams from this year. The move is aimed at avoiding unhealthy competition among students,” CISCE chief executive and secretary Jospeh Emmanuel said.
The CBSE had last year stopped the practice of announcing merit lists for the both these board exams. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when board exams were not conducted due to the closure of schools and students were marked using alternative evaluation methods, both the CBSE and CISCE had not issued any merit list. The practice was, however, resumed after the schools reopened.
A total of 2,43,617 students, comprising 53.57 per cent boys and 46.43 per cent girls, had appeared in the ICSE final exam. Despite being in the minority, girls excelled with a pass percentage of 99.65 per cent, surpassing the boys' pass percentage of 99.31. Similarly, in the ISC final exam, out of 99,901 students, 52.82 per cent were boys and 47.18 per cent were girls. The girls outshone boys with a remarkable pass percentage of 98.92, compared to the boys' score of 97.53 per cent.
In Class 10, the best-performing schools abroad are from Indonesia, Singapore and Dubai, with a 100 per cent pass percentage. In Class 12, the best-performing schools are from Singapore and Dubai.
The ICSE examination (Class 10) was conducted in 60 written subjects, of which 20 were Indian languages, 13 were foreign languages and one classical language. The ICSE exams started on February 21 and concluded on March 28. They were conducted over 18 days.
The ISC examination (Class 12) was conducted in 47 written subjects, of which 12 were Indian languages, four foreign languages and two classical languages. For ISC, the exams began on February 12 and concluded on April 4. They were conducted over 28 days.
A total 2,695 schools presented candidates for the Class 10 exams with 82.48 per cent (2,223) schools attaining a pass percentage of 100. For Class 12, a total of 1,366 schools presented candidates with 66.18 per cent (904) schools attaining a pass percentage of 100.
In Delhi-NCR, the pass percentage for ICSE stood at 99.88 per cent, up by 0.20 per cent from last year. The score for ISC was 99.10 per cent, up by 0.06 per cent from last year. The girls performed better than boys at both levels.
Uttar Pradesh marked a notable surge in pass percentages for both Class 10 and 12 examinations in comparison to the previous year. The pass rate for class 10 went up to 99.14 per cent from 98.40 per cent in 2023, showcasing remarkable progress. Likewise, Class 12 witnessed a substantial increase to 97.94 per cent from 96.33 per cent in the preceding year, underscoring the commendable performance of students statewide.