Kolkata, May 7 (PTI) A total of 4,30,286 students passed this year's West Bengal Class 12 board examinations, the results of which were announced on Wednesday.
According to West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education president Chiranjib Bhattacharya, 90.79 per cent of 4,82,948 candidates cleared the exam that was held between March 3 and 18.
Of the successful candidates, 93 per cent are boys and 88.1 per cent girls, he added.
Asked about the lower percentage of successful girl candidates in comparison to boys, Bhattacharya said, "This is because majority of girls opted for humanities-based papers in combination, unlike boys who generally preferred science."
The HS Council President said the number of female candidates was higher by 47,539 than that of male ones due to the various government welfare projects such as Kanyashree for girls.
Purba Medinipur district recorded the highest pass percentage at 95.74 per cent, followed by North 24 Parganas (93.53 per cent) and Kolkata (93.43 per cent)
Among the successful candidates, 45.38 per cent scored above 60 per cent, while 16.99 per cent got 75 per cent and above.
In all, 72 candidates featured in the top 10 bracket.
Rupayan Pal of Burdwan CMS High School in Purba Bardhaman topped the list, scoring 497 marks (99.4 per cent).
He was followed by Tushar Debnath of Baksirhat High School in Cooch Behar (496 marks), Rajarshi Adhikari of Arambagh High School in Hooghly (495 marks) and Srijita Ghoshal of Sonamukhi Girls’ High School in Bankura (494 marks). She is the first among female candidates.
Bhattacharya said 143 students with special needs appeared for the exam, with a pass percentage of 51.75.
He said this was the last examination under the annual system, in place since 1978.
"From 2026, the HS exams will be held in February and September," he said, adding that the fourth semester exams will be held from February 12-27.
The Council provided the QR code and percentile in the marksheet.
"By scanning the QR code, one can see the name, roll number, institution code, total marks and overall grade of the candidate concerned," he said, adding that the candidates will get hard copies of marksheets from May 8.
Wishing the successful candidates, Education Minister Bratya Basu in an X post said, "May you move forward in every walk of life and leave imprints of your achievement. May you enrich the culture and heritage of Bengal."