10 hours Ago
Pune/Mumbai: Two of the three all-India toppers in the Indian School Certificate (ISC) examinations, who have scored perfect 100% this year are from Maharashtra, while the third topper is from Kolkata. The duo from the state, Aarav Bandhan and Ishmit Kaur, study in the Bombay Scottish School in Mahim, Mumbai. The ISC results were announced on Wednesday by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
The last time a student scored 100% was in a pre-pandemic 2019. According to the results, in the ISC (Class XII) exam, girls achieved a pass percentage of 99.95% compared to 99.
65% for boys. The overall pass rate in India was 99.02% for the exam.
At least 3,723 students took the ISC exam in Maharashtra, while nearly one lakh sat for the exam in India and abroad, covering 47 ISC subjects. Data from the CISCE shows an 88% rise in the number of students scoring 95% and above in the results nationally compared with the previous year. There is also a significant rise in the number of students scoring 90% and above in the exams.
Maharashtra's overall performance has improved marginally with almost every student who appeared for the exam clearing it. The state's success rate is slightly higher than the national. Schools said students have done well across subjects including physics, mathematics and even English, with many scoring 100 in the language.
While last year, 15,945 students scored more than 90% in the ISC exams pan-India, this year, the number has risen to 20,381 nationally. In Maharashtra, the number has gone up marginally from 1,129 in 2024 to 1,211 this year. There is, though, a significant jump in the number of students scoring 95% and above.
Nationally, the number increased from 3,552 in 2024 to 6,696 this year and in Maharashtra, it has gone up from 339 in 2024 to 499 now. "This year, the papers were more application-based and tested the thinking skills of students for both ICSE and ISC exams. The papers were aligned to sample papers given by the board.
In the ISC exams, students found Economics and Accounts papers tough, and some of the papers were lengthy. We are very happy with our students' performance and have recorded better results than last year," said Caroline Ross, principal, St Mary's School. Sonali Gandhi, principal of Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, said the students have performed significantly better in the exams this year despite the shift in the paper pattern.
"The council has made a conscious move in making education more relevant and promoting understanding and application-based questions in the exams and it is not about rote learning anymore," said Gandhi, adding that students have done better in all subjects and they have cent per cent scorers in many subjects, which are usually considered to be difficult, including physics, chemistry and even English..
