CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu students recorded a pass percentage of 95.03% in the Class 12 State Board examination results announced by the Directorate of Government Examination (DGE) on Thursday.
Of the 7,92,494 students who appeared for the exam, 7,53,142 have cleared it, marking a slight increase in the pass percentage of 94.56 recorded last year.
Ariyalur, which had occupied the third spot in 2024, emerged as the top performer this year with 98.82% students clearing the exam. It was followed by Erode (97.98%) and Tiruppur (97.53%).
Government schools in the three districts were also the top three performers among state-run schools.
More students took the exam this year compared to last year when around 7.6 lakh had appeared for the examination. The number of absentees also dropped from 11,594 in 2024 to 10,049 this year.
26,887 students scored centum in at least 1 subject
The overall pass percentages for government, government-aided and private schools are 91.94%, 95.71%, and 98.88%, respectively. While all schools showed improvement compared to last year, government schools saw the pass percentage rise by 0.92 percentage points, from 91.02% in 2024.
Girls (96.7%) outperformed boys (93.16%) this year too. Of the total students who wrote the exam, 4,19,316 were girls and 3,73,178 were boys.
The highest number of centums were scored in Computer Science (9,536), followed by Computer Applications (4,208), Chemistry (3,181) and Mathematics (3,022). The number of students who scored centum in at least one subject stood at 26,887, including 2,853 government school students.
Ariyalur’s government schools showed a marked improvement with the pass percentage rising from 95.64% in 2024 to 98.32% in 2025, taking the district to the top spot both in the overall performance and among government schools. The government schools in Erode and Tiruppur followed suit with 96.88% and 95.64%, respectively.
Among the government schools under different managements, tribal welfare schools occupied the top spot with 95.5% results. Notably, the pass percentage in arts (82.90%) and vocational groups (84.22%) dropped compared to last year, when the numbers were 85.67% and 85.85%, respectively. Among the subjects, the pass percentage was lesser for Accountancy (97.36%) and History (97.74%).
Speaking after releasing the results, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi announced that students can collect their mark statements, required for higher education admissions, from their schools from May 12. Students can also apply for scanned copies of their answer scripts between May 13 and 17.
Supplementary exams will begin on June 25, and the detailed timetable will be released on Friday. Applications for supplementary exams can be submitted from May 14 to 31. Regular students must apply through their respective schools, while private candidates can apply at centres designated by the Directorate of Government Examinations.
“The number of government school students joining higher education has increased to 74%, indicating an increase in awareness. We expect the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of the state, which currently stands at 47%, to improve,” he said. He added that the government has recruited 3,087 new postgraduate teachers and is prioritising the filling of teacher vacancies.Confirming the reduction in Tamil syllabus, the minister said it has been done to ease the academic burden on students and teachers.
Anbil Mahesh said the state government has written to the union government demanding the release of pending funds. “Nearly one lakh students benefit from RTE admissions, which are part of the Samagra Shiksha scheme. However, `617 crore from the centre is still pending. We have stated in our letter that this delay is unconstitutional,” he added.