-Mita Mukherjee

As many as 86.60 percent of students who were enrolled for the 2022 West Bengal Madhyamik Examination have cleared the test, the results of which were declared on Friday.

The 2022 pass percentage has considerably dipped from last year when 100 per cent students had passed and no exam was held because of the pandemic. The 2021 Madhyamik results were prepared on the basis of students’ performance in the internal assessment conducted by the individual schools.  

The 2022 success rate is marginally higher than 2020 when 86.34 per cent students had cleared the test. In 2019 the pass percentage was 86.07 per cent.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education which conducts the examination had claimed that the pass percentage recorded in the 2020 Madhyamik — 86.34 per cent – was highest ever at that time.

As many as 10,98,775 students appeared in the 2022 Class X board exam of whom 9,49,927 were declared successful, Kalyanmoy Ganguly, the board president said announcing the results.

As many as 114 students made it to the first top ten ranks this time as there were many ties and more than one student scored the same total marks.

Arnab Gorai of Ramharipur Ramakrishna Mission High School in Bankura district and Raunak Mandal of Burdwan CMS School in Burdwan district jointly stood first scoring 693 out of 700.

The overall results of individual schools, however, showed that the subject wise scores are less this time than in 2020 and 2019, several schools said.

For example, according to the heads of some schools more than 85 per cent of the students had scored above 60 per cent marks in 2019 and 2020. The 2022 results show less than 60 per cent of the total examinees were placed in first division.

Students had to be taught through the online mode over the past two years because the schools were closed to prevent spread of Covid-19  and many students studying in the state-aided Madhyamik schools in the state did not have the necessary devices to attend the online classes on a regular basis. This could be a reason for the decline in the overall performance of the students, the teachers said. However, many students have managed to clear the exam despite not having access to smartphones, laptops and computers.

The board today also announced that the 2023 Madhyamik examination will start on February 23 and continue till March 4. The 2023 examination will be held on the entire syllabus.

The 2021 Madhyamik had started on March 7 and ended on March 16.     

Also Read: Bengal: All UG admissions to be held online