CHENNAI : Captain of his school cricket team, G Karthik Balaji of PSBB senior secondary school in KK Nagar was on cloud nine on Thursday for a different reason. He secured the all-India third rank in the CBSE Class 12 examinations, results of which were announced Thursday.Karthik is one of the 18 students who scored an impressive 497 out of 500 marks. Karthik has scored full marks in Math and Chemistry while losing one mark each in English, Physics and Computer Science.
“You need to strike a balance between academics and your other interests,” says Balaji, explaining how he manages to play cricket and still perform well in studies. “It is very crucial to find out what works for you.” Balaji claims that unlike other toppers, he does not spend 13-14 hours a day studying.“I study when I want to... This is because I have never considered academics or exams as a burden. I enjoy studying.” He says his success formula is to concentrate in class. “If you pay attention in class, most of the work is done.”
Overall, as per the institution-wise pass percentage Chennai region has witnessed a marginal drop in performance compared to previous year. A total of 81.13 per cent of students studying in government schools have passed this year compared to 89 per cent in 2018. Similarly, 92.66 per cent of private school students passed this year compared to 92.85 last year. Chennai has emerged as the second-best performing region, with a pass percentage of 92.93. Chennai region includes TN, AP, Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra among others.
Girls perform better than boys nationally
Yet again, girls have outshone boys in the Class 12 results. Two UP girls, Hansika Shukla from Ghaziabad and Karishma Arora from Muzaffarnagar scored 499 marks and clinched the top spot. Girls had a pass percentage of 88.70% compared to 79.40% of boys. In the children with special needs category, Shreyansh Amit Shah from Kola Saraswathi school in Kilpauk, Chennai came fourth. Among the regions, Thiruvananthapuram came first with pass percentage of 98.20, followed by Chennai.