Maharashtra SSC 90% plus club shrinks, gives ICSE, CBSE admission edge

Maharashtra's SSC pass rate rose by 4% to 75%, and Mumbai's went up by a marginal 0.7% to reach 80.7%, but hidden behind these small successes is a slowdown. The number of students getting 90% and higher dropped by 41.5% in the state from 42,731 last year to 24,994 in 2012.

In Mumbai, the drop is by 48.6%, from 14,523 students last year to 7,459. Fewer students got 80% and higher too. Among those who cracked the exam, the largest chunk—45%—have scores of 35-59%. With most ICSE and CBSE students holding better scorecards, the upcoming admission season looks rocky for SSC students. Sports marks, best-5 gloss fades this year

For at least three years now, since 2009, it seemed like the academic world was riding a wave. With each passing year, the results were a bigger splash. The population of high scorers climbed as students milked every scheme visible on the horizon—whether it was the best-5 policy or the generous giveaway of up to 4% to sports stars. It seemed like the levees had crashed as a flood of 90-percenters came. This year, the count has dropped.

Like last year, 21,171 students applied for the additional marks in sports this year but it seems like the magic has faded off the additional marks granted and the best-5 policy. School education minister Rajendra Darda said the board would look into the factors behind the drop in high scorers. But most teachers reasoned that it was because of the changed format of science and maths papers, which included questions under a fresh section that required 'high order thinking skills'.

Sanskriti Merchant, from Fort Convent High School, scored 98% after calculating the best five scores. Merchant said, "This year, the science paper was totally different from the ones that we practised for, those of the previous years. Some of the questions were application based, where we had to really think. Also, problems were not from the textbook, like they usually are. Many must have found it tougher."

Sarjerao Jadhav, state board chairman, said the overall success rate had gone up in the state because the timetable for the exams was given well in advance and the exam was spread over a month, thus giving students enough time to study without stress.

Schools that managed to get a 100% result have increased. Over 2,500 schools in Maharashtra got 100% pass results, while 97 schools had the dubious distinction of not seeing a single student clear the board.

Meanwhile, the Konkan division, a new one culled out of the Mumbai and Kolhapur divisions, did best with a 90.8% pass percentage. Mumbai's pass percentage secured it fourth place among divisions, a drop from last year's second rank. On a more predictable count, girls outperformed boys.