CBSE Class 12 Pass Rate at 85.20%, Down 3.19 Points

The Central Board of Secondary Education declared results for its Class 12 examinations on May 13, 2026, revealing an overall pass percentage of 85.20, a decline of 3.19 percentage points from 88.39 the previous year. Of 1,768,968 students who appeared nationwide, 1,507,109 passed.

Girls outperformed boys for the ninth consecutive year, achieving 88.86 percent compared to 82.13 percent, a gap of 6.73 percentage points. Transgender candidates recorded a perfect 100 percent pass rate. Officials noted over 17,000 students scored above 95 percent and nearly 94,000 above 90 percent, indicating strong performance at the top end despite the overall dip.

School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar attributed the lower pass rate to revisions in the assessment framework. "There is some difference in the percentage of marks this time, but that is quite natural because this time the scheme for assessment has changed," Kumar said. He encouraged students who underperformed not to lose confidence.

The exams, held from February 17 to April 10 across 7,573 centers in 19,967 schools, marked the first full-scale use of On-Screen Marking for Class 12. Evaluators digitally assessed 9,866,622 answer...