CBSE's 95% marks club grows, DU cut-offs set to rise

The 95% club has been ballooning for the past three years, bringing cheer to more parents and students in the short term. But the larger picture becomes clear as Delhi University cut-offs are announced. Mallica Joshi reports.The 95% club | Marks will now affect IIT chances

The number of Class 12 CBSE students across India scoring more than 95% marks has gone up by about 2,800 over last year's figure - a clear indication that Delhi University cut-offs for all subjects are set to skyrocket.

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While 4,456 students crossed that threshold last year, 7,231 did so this year - an increase of 62%.

The 95% club has been ballooning for the past three years, bringing cheer to more parents and students in the short term. But the larger picture becomes clear as cut-offs are announced.

On the day the CBSE declared results for Class 12, experts said the cut-off for science courses may go up by 4 percentage points.

The increase for commerce and humanities is likely to be in the range of 0.5 and 2 percentage points.

"With the marks in CBSE board exams skyrocketing, there is no way that DU cut-offs won't go up," said the principal of one of the most sought-after colleges in the university.

"Students and the government blame us for high cut-offs, whereas it is the school boards that should be advised against giving such inflated marks."

Overall, the nationwide pass percentage increased from 80.19% last year to 82.10% this year.

As usual, girls did better than boys, with 87.98% clearing the exam, compared with 77.78% boys.

At 91.83%, Chennai recorded the highest pass percentage.