-Mita Mukherjee

As many as 88.44 per cent students passed the 2022 West Bengal Higher Secondary (Class XII) examinations, the results of which were declared by the state HS council on Friday.

This year’s pass percentage is marginally higher than 2019 when the school leaving examination was held in full length for the last time.

The pass percentage in 2019 stood at 86.92 per cent.  

But the current year’s success rate is a huge drop from last year when almost 100 per cent students passed the exam. The council had not conducted any exam last year and the results were prepared on the basis of an alternative assessment module. In 2020 some papers had to be cancelled because of the outbreak of Covid 19 and a formula was adopted to assess the students in the cancelled papers. The pass percentage in 2020 was 90.13 per cent.

This year 47,203 examinees have scored over 90 per cent in aggregate which is considerably higher than in 2019 when the count was 7,818. In 2020 when the exam was held in some papers the 30,220 students scored above 90 per cent.

For the first time the 2022 HS examination was held in home centres, that is students sat at their own schools and wrote the test. This could be the reason for the jump in the number of high scores this time, officials of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education which conducts the exam said. According to council rules, examinees are allotted seats at away centres to write the test.

Adisha Deb Sharma, a student of Dinhata Soni Debi High School, Cooch Behar stood first in the exam this year scoring 498 out of 500. She has scored 99.6 per cent.

Two hundred and seventy-two students including 144 boys and 128 girls were placed among the top ten ranks. Never in the past so many students obtained the first top ten ranks, council sources said.

A total of 7,44,650 candidates had enrolled for the exam this year of whom 7,20,862 students appeared for the exam.

The results were declared in a record 44 days this year, which is also a first for West Bengal Higher Secondary results, the council officials claimed.

The 2022 HS exam began on April 2 and ended on April 7.

The 2023 HS exam will start on March 14 and continue till March 27, council officials said.

The 2023 exams will be held at away centres and students will be tested on the entire syllabus. The 2022 exams were held on reduced syllabus.

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