While a large number of students have managed to score distinction in the Board exams this year, it is the special-needs children who have turned out to the star students, with a considerable number scoring above 90 per cent
The results season has begun, with the first round announcing the ICSE (Std X) and ISC (Std XII) results yesterday. Like every year, the number of students passing the examinations with over 90 per cent score has gone up, also increasing their chances of getting through to colleges and courses of their choice.
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Maharashtra saw a 99.72 per cent and 98.80 per cent passing rate in the ICSE and ISC exams respectively. File pic for representation
What has really impressed educationists, however, is the remarkable performance by students with special needs this year. As per statistics provided by the council, the overall pass percentage of ICSE stood at 98.49 per cent and 99.72 per cent in India and Maharashtra respectively. Similarly, the ISC pass percentage stood at 96.28 per cent and 98.80 per cent in the country and state, respectively.
Students with learning as well as physical disabilities have done exceptionally well, with many scoring above 90 per cent. “This goes to prove how the education system is slowly taking cautious steps to ensure that every student gets equal opportunity to excel. Timely approvals for concessions have given great relief to students, as well as parents, and the sudden surge in students appearing for exams under the special category is the outcome this,” said Sudhanshu Sinhal, an educationist.
According to the statistics made public by the Board, there were 877 such special-difficulty cases, including students with learning disability (LD). Of these, 69 scored above 90 per cent. Similarly, of the 116 students with special difficulty who appeared for the ISC exams, six students scored above 90 per cent (see box).
Over the years, most schools have witnessed a steady rise in the number of special-needs students appearing for Board exams. Even this year, the number of special-needs ISC candidates (877) is up from last year’s 749. “There were five students with learning disability (LD) who appeared for the ICSE exams this year from our batch, and all of them passed with distinction (above 75%), with the highest score being 86%.
The fact that the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) gives so much importance to all students and also makes several concessions available, is helping many,” said Suma Das, principal of Pawar Public School in Bhandup.