Twitter
Advertisement

SSC results give Mumbai division a new high

The pass percentage of the city reached an all-time high with the Mumbai division finally crossing the 80% figure in the overall result.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The division registered an all-time high pass percentage of 80.98. Other divisions in the state fared even better. Priya Ramakrishnan, Yogita Rao and Mihika Basu report

The SSC results gave Mumbai reason to celebrate. The pass percentage of the city reached an all-time high with the Mumbai division finally crossing the 80% figure in the overall result. “Our students have performed extremely well this year as the overall pass percentage in the Mumbai division is 80.98 against 75.02 in 2007,” said Dakshin Das, secretary, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education.

While Gaurav Kulkarni of Satara's New English School, Kolhapur division, stood first in the state, Pratik Ramdasi from Dombivli and Madhura Naik from Badlapur jointly topped the Mumbai division with 96.61 per cent.

Many school principals attributed the high pass percentage to the new evaluation method. “The 20 marks allotted to projects and oral tests have added to the pass percentage,” said Shubhada Vinekar, principal, Manik Vidya Mandir, Bandra. “Students with good communication and presentation skills got a chance to score well.”

But the increase in pass percentage was only 5.96 per cent this year, compared with the eight per cent jump witnessed last year. In 2007, 75.02 per cent of students had cleared the examination as opposed to 66.82 per cent in 2006.

Mumbai lags behind: Despite the improved performance, the Mumbai division lags behind other regions. Aurangabad topped the state with an overall pass percentage of 83.43, while Latur came second with 83.13.

With 86.25 per cent fresh candidates clearing the exam, Mumbai division ranked sixth in the state. Aurangabad again came on top with 89.45 per cent students passing in the new course.

“Mumbai lags behind other divisions because of the huge number of students who appear for the SSC exam here,” said Basanti Roy, division secretary, state education board. This year 3,20,190 students appeared for the exam from the Mumbai division, the highest number in the state. “The number of private and night school candidates is also more in the Mumbai region and they do not fare well in the exams,” said Roy.

Girls are still ahead: Girls outperformed boys in the state as well as city, but only marginally. While the pass percentage for girls stood at 87.57, it was 85.12 per cent among boys. The pass percentage among girls rose by a meagre 1.79 per cent. The figure last year was 85.78.

State does better: With the introduction of the new evaluation system, the passing percentage in the state as a whole has gone up by 3.89 per cent. Of the 15,86,017 students who appeared for the exam, 78.91 per cent cleared it. Last year, only 75.02 per cent had cleared the class X exam.

Languages of success: Languages such as Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi, Arabic, and French recorded a cent per cent passing rate. Science and social science also registered a pass percent of over 90. Mathematics, feared by many students, saw 87.16 per cent clear it.

Manoj Singh, Night school topper, 86.15%
For Manoj Singh, the SSC results have come as a second lease of life. The 20-year-old had to drop out of school after Std IX for personal reasons. When he tried to resume his education, he faced many roadblocks. He was refused admission by all the day schools in his area and asked to appear as a private candidate. Unwilling to give  up, Manoj joined a night school.

With hard work and determination, Manoj has now silenced his critics. “If we are determined to achieve a goal, it won’t be difficult,” he said.
Manoj wants to join the National Defence Academy. If he can't get into the NDA, Manoj would opt for BSc-IT. “I have realised that acquiring a qualification is very important.”

Snehal Gite, Backward category topper, 95.23%
It is destination IIT for Snehal Gite. The student of Chogle High School, Borivli, wants to be an engineer like her father. “I want to study either computer science or electronics at IIT Bombay,” says the 15-year-old.

Snehal is all set to join an IIT-JEE coaching centre to realise her dreams. Attributing her success to her diligence, she says, “I studied regularly.” Though she took tuitions for science and mathematics, she prepared for other subjects on her own. She now wants to pursue a vocational course (computer science) from Sathaye or Patkar College.
Asked about quotas, Snehal says, “I can’t really say whether reservations should be there, but it doesn’t matter to me. I have scored well anyway.”

Manali Naik, Handicapped category topper, 96.46%
Madhav Naik would feel helpless every time he looked at his daughters  Manali, 16, and Keyuri, 11, huddled together studying under a single bulb in his 130 sq ft house in Dadar. Employed with the Hindustan Construction Company, he would worry about his daughters' future.

But on Thursday, Naik was ecstatic. Manali had cleared the SSC exam with a whopping 96.46 per cent. She not only topped in the handicapped category, but also stood second in the Mumbai division.

“I was sure of scoring above 90 per cent,” says Manali, who walks with a limp, “but second rank was unbelievable.”
She now wishes to pursue a career in biotechnology but has not yet decided upon a college.

Madhura Naik, Mumbai division topper, 96.61%
Madhura Naik always dreamt of being a topper. Her dream came true when the SSC results were announced. She not only scored the highest among girls in the city but also topped the Mumbai division.

A student of Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Badlapur, Madhura regularly took part in extra-curricular activities. “I never followed a time-table,” she says. “I got serious about studies only after my preliminary exams.”
Madhura wants to opt for commerce. “Engineering and medicine are not my cup of tea,” she says. She would also like to attempt the civil services. “I am keeping my options open,” she says. She would like to study at Mulund College of Commerce or RA Podar College, Matunga.

Pratik Ramdasi, Mumbai division topper, 96.61%
Having topped the Mumbai division in the SSC examination, Pratik Ramdasi has his sights trained on cracking the IIT-JEE two years later. “I have joined a coaching centre for the JEE,” says Pratik, who shares his first rank with Madhura Naik. Their 96.61 per cent was a mere 1.23 per cent short of state topper Gaurav Kulkarni (Kolhapur division) who scored 97.84 per cent.

A student of SV Joshi School in Dombivli, Pratik wants to pursue a vocational degree in computer science or mechanical engineering in Std XI to get that extra edge. “But my real goal is to become a scientist,” says the boy. He would like to go abroad, but it all “depends on the marks I get after I complete my engineering.”

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement