HYDERABAD: Class X students who appeared for the Telangana Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams have set a new record by securing a pass percentage of 92.43. The results, which were announced on Monday, saw the overall pass percentage rise by 8.65 percentage points, from 83.78 per cent last year. In 2017, the pass percentage was 84.15.
Like in other boards, in SSC too, girls outdid boys, securing a pass percentage of 93.68, 2.5 percentage points higher than their male counterparts’. The boys’ pass percentage was 91.18.
Educationists said this year’s was the best-ever SSC performance. One of the main reasons for this was four erroneous questions in the mathematics paper, which led to a large number of students getting six additional marks for just attempting those questions.
“Maths sees the most failures, but this time, 96.13 per cent of students passed, and the overall pass percentage also shot up because of the grace marks given by the Board. In addition, the question paper pattern was different, and much easier,” said Chava Ravi, general secretary, Telangana State United Teachers Federation.
In State-run schools, teachers said that right from the beginning of the academic session, they focused on students who were weak in studies. “We know our facilities don’t match those in private and other residential schools, and so, the students here are not the cream of the crop. But it was decided that in all government schools, poor performers would be given two-hour remedial classes every day,” said R Sarvotham Reddy, a recently-retired principal of the Government High School in Warangal.
The number of schools that secured a pass percentage of 100 also shot up significantly. Of the 11,026 schools in the State, 4,374 saw all students pass all subjects, and only nine didn’t have even a single student who passed the exam. In 2017, only 2,125 schools secured a pass percentage of 100, and 21 schools had no students who passed.