Taking into account the "extraordinary" situation brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Board of Secondary education (CBSE) this year exempted a section of Class 12 students from taking both Term 1 and Term examinations. Students who tested positive for Covid-19 during either of the two exams and those who couldn't appear for one exam on account of being stuck in a containment zone (or being quarantined) had their final results tabulated based on the marks scored in whichever of the two exams they were able to take. That apart, students who missed appearing for one exam because of an international Olympiad or because of their participation in national or international level sporting events have also been exempted. For the 2021-22 academic year, the CBSE had introduced a bifurcated format with two terms: the Term-I board exams were held in November-December last year, while the Term-II exams were held in April-May this year. This was done as a stop-gap arrangement to avoid a repeat of 2021 when both Class 10 and Class 12 Board exams had to be cancelled due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Class 12 results announced on Friday were quite sober compared to the performance registered last year. The pass percentage this time is pegged at 92.7% as opposed to 99.37% last year. Similarly, the difference in performance is also reflected in the number of high-scoring candidates. This year, 33,432 scored more than 95% marks as opposed to 70,000 last year. About 1.3 lakh students scored 90% and above. This figure stood at 1.5 lakh last year.
