Higher Secondary Results Declared: 56 Students Make It To Top 10

Kolkata: A total of 56 students made it to the top ten merit list as results of the Higher Secondary examination were announced on Monday by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE).

Of the top ten, eight are from Kolkata, including state topper Swagatam Halder. A student of Panchasayar Siksha Niketan, Halder scored 99 percent marks. Three students have been declared joint second with 98.4 percent marks while Nilanjana Pal, a student of Arambagh Girl’s High School in Hooghly district has stood third with 98 percent marks.

WBCHSE president Mohua Das said pass percent this year saw an increase of 1.27 percent compared to last year and stood at 83.65, the best figure since 2001.

Noting that the dropout rate this year has also come down considerably from 2.2 percent in 2013 to 0.87 percent, state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, said the government would extend its helping hands to all the successful students. “I have spoken to the toppers over phone. This year, dropout rates have come down, pass percent has gone up and minority students have done well too. It is a good sign indicating the holistic development of the state education. Mamata Banerjee’s efforts have paid off in the state,” Chatterjee said.

A total of 7,79,453 students (including external candidates) had appeared for the examination this year. Of them, 6,33,930 have successfully cleared it. Pass percentage of boy students increased to 85.11 as opposed to last year’s 82.96. Pass percent for female students have also increased from 81.8 last year to 82.26.

Among the districts, East Medinipur registered the highest pass percentage at 92.38, followed by West Medinipur with 88.96, Kolkata with 87.56, Hooghly with 86.88, South-24 Parganas with 86.84 and Howrah with 86.74. Jalpaiguri district registered the lowest pass percentage at 75.06.