CHENNAI: A sharp decline in the number of centum scorers in core science subjects in the Class 12 State Board examinations is expected to bring down cut-off marks for engineering and other science-based professional courses in Tamil Nadu this year.
Data from the higher secondary examination results show that mathematics centum scorers have dropped drastically from 3,022 in 2025 to just 732 this year. Similarly, chemistry centums have fallen from 3,181 last year to 632 in 2026.
Educationists say the steep fall in top scores in science subjects will directly impact admissions to engineering and allied professional courses where cut-offs are calculated out of 200 based on physics, chemistry and mathematics marks.
Career guidance expert Ashwin R said his analysis of admission trends between 2022 and 2026 indicates that engineering cut-offs could decline by around 1 to 3.5 marks this year. He noted that courses dependent on biology marks are also likely to witness a similar trend.
“Veterinary and fisheries courses may see a reduction of around 1 to 3 marks in cut-offs, while agriculture admissions in government colleges could witness a fall of nearly 2 to 4 marks,” he said.
Another career counsellor, Jayaprakash Gandhi, said the reduction in centum scorers in the science stream would significantly affect Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA). According to him, cut-offs above 180 out of 200 may decline by around 2 to 4 marks this year, while students in the 160-plus range could see reductions of nearly 6 marks in certain branches and colleges.
He added that science undergraduate courses, including BSc programmes in physics, chemistry and biotechnology, are also likely to record lower admission benchmarks this year. However, commerce admissions are expected to remain stable.
In contrast to science subjects, the number of centum scorers in accountancy has increased significantly from 1,240 last year to 1,946 this year. Experts said the rise in accountancy centums could help maintain existing cut-off levels for BCom courses, while arts and commerce programmes may witness only marginal changes in admissions this year.
Tribal schools emerge with flying colours
Chennai: Among the government-managed schools, tribal welfare schools in the state recorded one of the highest pass percentages at 97.33% in the Class 12 examinations this year, continuing their steady improvement over the past three years. The pass percentage stood
at 95.50% in 2025 and 95.15% in 2024. The number of tribal welfare schools registering 100% results has also increased significantly from 12 in 2025 to 20 this year.
Out of the 36 tribal welfare schools in the state, more than half secured a 100% result this year. A total of 1,463 students from tribal welfare schools appeared for the examinations this year, of whom 1,424 cleared them. In 2025, 1,512 students had passed out of 1,444 candidates.