Students will be declared as pass if they secure an overall percentage of 33 as against a previous pass percentage of 35 in Karnataka’s Senior School Leaving Certificate Examinations (SSLC).

According to a notification by the government of Karnataka, candidates shall secure an average of 33% marks in internal assessment and external examination combined and shall be declared pass if they secure at least 206 marks out of a total of 625 marks. This includes at least 30% marks in each subject.

Previously, students had to secure a minimum of 35% overall pass marks out of a score of 625 to be passed. Also, a minimum of 26 marks must have been secured in the theory exams (board exams).

These regulations will be called the ‘Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board First Regulations (Amendment) 2025’.  Stakeholders can also submit feedback to Karnataka School Examinations and Assessments Board (KSEAB) regarding the same.

This is among the several measures that Karnataka has introduced to boost the overall pass percentage in the state. It may be recollected that in May 2025, 62.34% of the 8.42 lakh students who appeared for the SSLC exams passed. This was against an abysmally low 54% unaltered pass percentage of 2024 (the KSEAB was forced to dole out grace marks to pass students later).

Among the other recent moves, Karnataka’s Department of School Education and Literacy has warned of strict action against government officials or local body members who assign non-academic duties to teachers or students during school hours. They also said that teachers and principals will not be involved in workshops, video conferences, training sessions, or other activities on working days. They are also disallowed any tasks like “On Official Duty” (OOD) during school hours.

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