Tamil Nadu recorded an overall pass percentage of 91.3 per cent in Standard XI State Board exams, results of which were declared around 9 am on Wednesday.
After nearly three decades, the State government had announced last year that it would be compulsory for Class 11 (Plus One) State board students to write a public exam as well.
This move was set in the backdrop of competitive exams such as NEET becoming more prominent in the State. “Schools often emphasise on Class 12 syllabus, leaving students weak in Class 11 syllabus. We wanted students to have a strong hold of the entire higher secondary syllabus, so that they also compete in national exams,” said a senior official from the school education department.
While 94.6 per cent of girls cleared the exam, in comparison, 87.4 per cent of boys were successful.
Of the 7,070 schools that sent students for the exam, 2,054 recorded a 100 per cent pass.
Nearly 8.47 lakh candidates from schools across the State had appeared for the exam. While 4.29 per cent of the students had scored above 500 marks out of 600, 29.25 per cent of the students had secured between 201 and 300 marks. For Class 11 students, the duration of the exam was two-and-a-half hours as against the three-hour exams in Class 12.
The State government had also announced that in addition to conducting a board exam for Class 11 in 2018, they would also issue a consolidated mark sheet based on the marks secured in Classes 11 and 12 for these students, who will pass out in 2019. These consolidated scores will be used for Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2019.
“Initially, I was scared because we are the first batch to have a public exam in Class 11, but after the first few exams we got the grip. It’s also less stressful on us because it is out of 600,” said K Chandrika, a student who cleared the board examination.
Teachers said they didn’t have to pressure students to prepare for Class 12 early. “We got enough time to concentrate on Class 11 syllabus. Usually, we start having Class 12 special class from February itself,” said a teacher from a private matriculation school.
To reduce pressure on students, the government had also announced a no-detention policy for Class 11, which meant that students who couldn’t clear the exam could take up those papers alone while studying Class 12.
