Despite the pandemic disrupting the education scenario, Class XII State Board students scored better when compared to March 2020. The pass percentage went up by 1.4%. On the other hand, the pass percentage of Class X plummeted by 5%, compared to March 2019.
The results of Class X and XII Board examinations in Tamil Nadu were released on Monday, June 20, and the State recorded a pass percentage of 90.07 and 93.76 respectively.
Announcing the results, School Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Payyamozhi said that girls outshone boys in both Classes X and XII. As many as 4.06 lakh girl students (96.32%) in Class XII were declared pass as against 3.49 lakh (90.96%) of boys. In Class X, girls outshined by 8.55%.
Analysing the results
The schools in Tamil Nadu have been shut due to the COVID pandemic since the academic year 2020-21. Class XII was the first round of Board exams that were conducted after a pandemic-induced gap of one year.
In 2021, the pass percentage was at 100 due to the new evaluation method as exams were not conducted. It was 92.3% in 2020, 91.3% in 2019, and 91.1% in 2018. Meaning this year's performance was the best compared to the past three years.
Similarly, for Class X, the pass percentage was 100% in 2020 and 2021, 95.2% in 2019, and 94.5% in 2018. This year, the performance fell to 90.07 per cent.
Sharing thoughts
"While special classes were held for Class XII and students continued to go to schools even when schools shut due to COVID, not many schools followed the same for Class X. Also, since there is the pressure of making it to good colleges, Class XII students did better. There is still a lot of learning gap that needs to be bridged among higher secondary students," said K Balaraman, a teacher with two-decade experience, in Chennai.
Concurring, R Parthiban, an Illam Thedi Kalvi volunteer said, "The scheme caters to students in Classes I-VIII. It could be extended to Classes IX and X. Many secondary class students came to us asking if we could teach them. The learning gap is not just among the primary students. Since the academic year has just begun, this scheme could be extended or a special scheme can be rolled out only for Classes IX and X students."
In Class X, Kanyakumari recorded the highest pass percentage at 97.22%. This is followed by Perambalur at 97.15% and Virudhunagar at 95.96%. In Class XII, Perambalur recorded the highest pass percentage at 97.95%. This is followed by Virudhunagar at 97.27% and Ramanathapuram at 97.02%.
Those who were no show
However, as against speculations that COVID may result in a huge number of absentees, the number of absentees in Class XII decreased when compared to March 2020. While the absentee percentage was 4.46% in March 2020, it fell to 3.70%, this year.
However, Class X saw an increase in the absentee rate. The number has doubled when compared to 2019. While the absentee percentage was 2.09% in March 2019, it fell to 4.45%, this year.
"Students can call 14417 and 1098 helplines for counselling and in case of distress. We also have a separate call centre through which students who scored less marks will be contacted and counselled. Also, children can make use of hi-tech labs in schools to file their applications for colleges," said Anbil Mahesh.
