BHUBANESWAR: A record 89.49 per cent (pc) students in Arts stream passed the Annual Plus II Examination-2021, the results of which were published by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) on Saturday.
The overall pass percentage of students in Arts this year is around 22 pc more compared to 67.56 pc the previous year. The results were based on an alternative assessment method that was adopted after cancellation of the Plus II exams due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said over 2.2 lakh students, including 1.89 lakh regular and 26,189 ex-regular, appeared the exams. Of which, around 1.96 lakh students, including 1.86 lakh regular students, were declared pass.
As many as 30,510 regular students (16.11 pc) secured first division, while 46,101 (24.34 pc) got second division. Besides, 1,10,074 passed the exams with third division. A total 95 students secured more than 90 pc marks this year, he added.
Balasore topped the list of districts with a pass percentage of 95.29 pc, while Nabarangpur figured at the bottom with 80.91 pc. Like Science and Commerce, girls outperformed boys in the Arts stream too. The overall pass percentage of girls remained 92.34 pc, around 6.4 per cent more compared to 85.98 pc by the boys. The CHSE had sought more time from the Supreme Court to announce the result of Arts. The apex court had fixed the deadline for declaration of results of all three streams in alternative assessment mode by July-end. The council had published the results of Science and Commerce on July 31.
The pass percentage of students remained 95.15 pc in Science and 94.96 pc in Commerce. Officials said the overall pass rate of students in the three streams in 2020-21 academic session remained 93.2 pc compared to 71 pc in 2019-20. While 86.02 pc students cleared the examination in vocational education stream, 392 of 405 students have cleared the Mahir (Plus II) conducted by the Odisha Madarsa Board.
The Minister said students who are not satisfied with their results can lodge their grievances before the principals of higher secondary schools concerned by August 23. Besides, students dissatisfied with the alternative assessment criteria will be allowed to appear the exams in offline mode for which a notification will be issued by the CHSE by August 21, he added.