Days after the announcement of CBSE Class 12 results, the Ministry of Education on Sunday (May 17, 2026) said the ‘On Screen Marking’ (OSM) is an internationally accepted norm which enables “transparent evaluation”.

The statement came amid concerns over the OSM evaluation being a reason for scoring less marks.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) released the Class 12 board examination results which recorded a slight dip in the overall pass percentage in 2026 in comparison to last year. The national pass percentage stands at 85.20%, a drop of 3.19% from last year’s 88.39%.

“About 98 lakh sheets were scanned for CBSE class 12 with three levels of security,” the statement said.

The Ministry also announced that the costs for revaluation of the answer sheets have also been reduced to ₹100 from ₹700 and ₹500, respectively. “Students will have the option of revaluation,” said Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL).

A total of 17,68,968 students appeared in the CBSE board examinations for Class 12. Over 94,000 students scored above 90%, with more than 17,000 candidates securing marks above 95%.

Among the regions, Trivandrum leads the charts with a staggering 95.62% pass rate, followed closely by Chennai and Bengaluru. Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh has the lowest pass percentage at 72.43%.

With PTI inputs

Telangana’s girls, with a pass rate of 95.16%, outshone boys who achieved 89.51%,in the Senior School Certificate Examination (Class 12) results announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday.

Telangana recorded an overall 92.24% pass rate for the 11,426 candidates who appeared for the exam. It was 99.73% last year. The Chennai region, under which Telangana is covered, achieved 93.84%, second only to the Trivandrum region’s 95.62%, the highest among the 22 regions in the country.

For Telangana, the decline in the pass rate was also stark for girls and boys compared to last year’s 99.80% and 99.66%, respectively.

Overall, 1,768,968 candidates appeared for the exams conducted from February 17 to April 10 across the country, and 85.20% of candidates passed, a decline from 88.39% last year.

State-wise, Lakshadweep, with 14 students, saw a 100% pass rate, followed by Goa (96.38%), Kerala (95.61%), and Tamil Nadu (95.25%).

According to CBSE data for Telangana, the pass percentage for general candidates was 94.80 (5,160 candidates), for candidates belonging to the SC community, it was 88.76% (813), for the ST community it was 88.39% (1,736), and for OBC candidates, it was 91.20% (2,830). The performance of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas was the best (99.08%) followed by Kendriya Vidyalayas (98.66%).

The CBSE said that the supplementary exams will be conducted on July 15 as a single-day exam for candidates who wish to improve their performance in one subject only, and for those placed in the compartment category, including those from last year.

In Hyderabad, several independent schools claimed top pass percentages, including Jubilee Hills Public School, Hyderabad Public School at Ramanthapur, and Glendale Academy. They said consistent academic excellence, holistic development, a value-driven learning environment and the school’s commitment helped achieve the results.