HSC: Mumbai shocks and awes

File Photo/PTI

MUMBAI ranked last among all nine divisions in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam, recording a pass percentage of 88.13 per cent. However, it came first in terms of students who scored 90 per cent and above. While the overall pass percentage of students who appeared for the exam - 91.25 per cent - has increased significantly compared to pre-COVID times, the state saw a three-per-cent drop compared to last year.

MUMBAI, which had the highest number of candidates who appeared for the exam - 2,90,258, recorded a pass percentage of 90.91 per cent last year and in 2021, the figure was 99.79 per cent. A total of 7,696 students from Mumbai scored above 90 per cent this time, however. Also, the division has the highest number of students who scored 75 per cent and above as well as 60 per cent and above - 38,884 and 77,322 pupils respectively.

Konkan became the best-performing division yet again this year, recording a pass percentage of 96.01.

Talking about the drop in pass percentage this year, a senior official from the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) said, "Both the Std XII and X board exams could not be held in 2021 due to the pandemic and the results were declared as per internal assessments. However, the exams were conducted offline last year and this year. Students who appeared for online classes in the last two years appeared for their offline board exams. The gap in offline schooling and anxiety among many seem to be the cause of the dip in the pass percentage across the state last year and yet again this year. In fact, it's the first board exam for this batch. However, the performance is still much better than that of the pre-COVID time (2019)."

State figures

The results for all of the state divisions were announced online simultaneously by the MSBSHE on Thursday. The state's overall HSC pass rate was 94.22 per cent last year. However, it remains significantly higher than the pre-pandemic result, 87.69 per cent.

This was the second offline board exam since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

Out of a total of 14,28,194 pupils who appeared for the exam from across the state, 12,92,468 cleared it; 93.73 per cent of these students are girls while 89.14 per cent are boys.

The pass percentage for the science, arts and commerce streams was 96.09 per cent, 84.05 per cent and 90.42 per cent respectively.

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Mumbai performance

In the Mumbai division, 3,31,161 appeared for the exam out of which 2,90,258 passed; 90.42 per cent are girls while 86.06 per cent are boys.

The division comprises six sub-divisions. The Mumbai city or Greater Mumbai recorded the lowest pass percentage (84.21 per cent) while the Raigad region recorded the highest (91.94 per cent), followed by Palghar (90.76 per cent), Thane (88.90 per cent), Mumbai Suburbs 1 [Bandra to Dahisar] (86.80 per cent) and Mumbai Suburbs 2 [Kurla to Mulund] (86.32 per cent).

How other divisions fared

After the Konkan, Pune topped the list of divisions in terms of pass percentage (93.34 per cent) followed by Kolhapur (93.28 per cent).

This year, 6,49,754 students from nearly 6,000 colleges and high schools in the state appeared for the science stream. Out of these, 6,24,363 passed.

There are 17 colleges in the state where not a single student passed in the science stream with a zero pass percentage. In the science stream, 36 colleges in the state reported pass rates of 50 per cent or less. Meanwhile, as many as 2,369 colleges in the state have recorded a pass percentage of 100 per cent.

Out of 3,87,285 arts students from 6,679 junior colleges and high schools, 3,25,545 passed. Out of these junior colleges, 31 have recorded a zero pass percentage, of which the highest number (11) is from the Aurangabad division. A total of 306 colleges recorded a pass percentage of 50 per cent or below. A total of 775 colleges recorded a pass percentage of 100 per cent.

Admission schedule announced

Amid the announcement of results, Mumbai University (MU) wasted no time in declaring the schedule for submitting applications and the release of merit lists, kicking off the admissions process for UG courses.

According to a circular issued by MU on Thursday evening, the sale of forms, pre-admission online enrolment and online submission of admission forms along with mandatory pre-enrolment forms will start on May 27 and will go on till June 12.

Following this, the first merit lists will be announced at 11 am on June 19. Last year, the first merit list was announced on June 29, amid much chaos and opposition as the admission process started even as results of CBSE Std XII were delayed.

The merit list for UG programmes will be released by the respective colleges. Thereafter the process of online verification of documents and online payment of fees will take place from June 20 to June 27.

The second merit list will be announced on June 28, following which online document verification and online fee payments will have to be done between June 30 and July 5.

The third merit list will be announced on July 6 and the mandatory processes will have to be done between July 7 and July 10.

The circular directs the principals of all affiliated colleges and directors of sub-campuses in Thane, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg to strictly follow the schedule of admissions.

Facts and figures

Maharashtra

Candidates who passed: 12,92,468

Boy students: 6,84,998

Girl students: 6,08,350

Girls' pass percentage: 93.73%

Boys' pass percentage: 89.14%

Overall: 91.25%.

Mumbai

Candidates who passed: 2,90,258

Boy students: 1,48,793

Girl students: 1,41,465

Girls' pass percentage: 90.42%

Boys' pass percentage: 86.06%

Overall: 88.13%

In Numbers