The Telegraph: Guwahati: Thursday, June 1, 2017.
The pass rate in the Assam matriculation (Class X) examination, whose results were announced today, dropped by 14.85 per cent, making it the lowest in 14 years.
The pass percentage this year was 47.94 compared to 62.79 last year. But Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the results were "realistic" and "satisfactory".
Sources in the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (Seba), which conducts the matric exams, attributed the drop in pass percentage to implementation of the recommendations of a committee of four vice-chancellors on awarding grace marks and holding the exam under CCTV surveillance to prevent cheating.
The committee had recommended that students be awarded grace marks in a maximum of three subjects and not more than five marks in each subject.
"Forty-seven per cent is satisfactory. I thought it will be even lower because we had taken several steps to check cheating during the exams and provided grace marks in a regulated manner," Sarma told reporters here today.
"During installation of CCTVs, I had realised the pass percentage would go down. But for the first time we have had realistic performance. Based on this, we can work on how to increase the pass percentage," Sarma said.
He said students who got star marks in the exam will receive laptops within 45 days.
Altogether 3,80,733 students applied for the exam, of whom 3,72,640 appeared. Altogether 54,955 students got first division, 80,179 passed with second division marks and 1,78,656 students in third division.
All Assam Students' Union (AASU) president Dipanka Nath, however, blamed the fall in pass percentage for the failure of the state government to improve the education scenario.
Sarma had earlier said Seba would hold a compartmental exam for students who fail to clear the matric exam. He said today that the date of the compartmental exam would be announced this week.
There was not a single rank-holder from city schools.
In the Assam high madrassa examination, 10,116 students appeared, of whom 821 got first division marks, 2,556 second division and 1,901 third division. The pass percentage was 52.17.
Despite making the results available online and through SMS, many students visited their schools. A festive mood prevailed in the institutions which produced rank-holders.
Seba said it would preserve the answer scripts for four months and students can request photocopies of the evaluated answer scripts under Right to Information Act during this period. A student will have to pay Rs 520 per answer script, irrespective of the number of pages, while the RTI Act states that if an institution provides any information to a person, it should charge only Rs 2 per page.
The board asked the students to apply within 15 days from today paying Rs 320 per subject online.
Two visually impaired students from Assam Andha Vidyalaya, Bihpuria in Lakhimpur district - Priyabashi Das and Rashmi Rekha Basumotori - secured first division marks.
On the other hand, Failow Daimari of Debendra Green Group English School of Dhekiajuli committed suicide around 11am after failing to clear the Class X exam. He was found hanging in his house at Monojuli.
.JPG)
.JPG)
