Bengaluru: Bengaluru region, which comprises all CBSE schools in Karnataka, clocked a pass percentage of 98.9% for Class 10 exam, same as that of academic year 2025. The results were announced Wednesday.Bengaluru region slipped to third position among all regions under CBSE. Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada retained their first position with 99.79%. Chennai pipped Bengaluru to get the second slot with 99.58%. Nationally, the pass percentage was 93.7%, a marginal increase of 0.04% from last year. CBSE said this confirms that “students are well prepared for competency-based assessment”. Around 95% girls passed as against 93% boys. For the first time, CBSE is introducing two board examinations for Class X students, prompting the board to release results early. Else, the results are usually announced in the second week of May. The next exam is scheduled for May. Students were required to appear in at least three subjects during the first examination, which serves as the main examination. Around 9% of the students — that is, 2,21,574 of them — got 90% and above. 2.2% (55,368 students) received more than 95%. CBSE reiterated that there will be no merit list or first, second or third divisions. Instead, it will issue the merit certificate to the top 0.1% of students who scored the highest marks in the subjects. While Bengaluru schools witnessed several exemplary performances, Maths was the dampener in many cases. “Maths was a tough and lengthy paper. We had expected that some students might lose out on marks in the subject. Scoring in the rest of the subjects was extremely good,” said Jayanti Nair, principal, National Public School, Banashankari. Agreed Meetali Archit, principal, Nagarjuna Vidyaniketan: “The scoring in science and social sciences is better than last year. But, in Maths, the scoring is less. Many students have expressed interest in writing the next exam for improving the maths score.” Scoring in artificial intelligence and information technology was high for most students. While English was good for a large majority, some schools saw a slight dip in languages. Lavanya G, principal, Mount Litera Zee School, said 8 of the 38 students have applied for the next exam. “Students took the exam a tad lighter because they were convinced that they have another chance. Every change has pros and cons,” she said.Among states, Kerala tops the chart with 99.91%, followed by Tamil Nadu (99.76%), Karnataka (98.91%), Maharashtra (98.4%) and Punjab (98.08). In Bengaluru region, a total of 1,01,660 students appeared, of which 1,00,554 passed. A total of 1,087 students are placed in compartment exams, which comes to 1.07%. BOX:Girls outperform boys Boys– 98.5%Girls– 99.43%Total– 98.91%CBSE Schools & pass percentage Aided – NoneGovt– 98.29%Independent– 98.86%Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya – 99.96%Kendriya Vidyalaya – 100%Sambhota Tibetan School Society– 100%Private – 50%Total no. of CBSE schools: 1,339Source: CBSE Rules for second examCandidates, who wish to appear in the second board examination and hadn’t submitted their names during the first phase, may now submit their names and pay the examination feeCandidates whose names were submitted can now pay the examination fee and those who wish not to appear in the second examination may withdraw their namesCandidates may also change Mathematics option: Students who offered mathematics (standard) in the main examination may opt for mathematics (basic) in the second examination and vice versaChange of other offered subjects are not allowedAll passed and eligible students may improve their performance in any three subjects from science, mathematics, social science, and languagesStudents placed in the ER category are not eligible for the Second ExaminationStudents placed in the Compartment category may appear in the Second Examination under the same category as well as for improvement category as per schemeCandidates registered as CWSN will continue to receive facilities as per CBSE provisions. No new CWSN registrations will be permittedIf a candidate’s name is submitted in the LOC and fee has been paid, but the candidate does not appear in the second examination, their performance in the main examination 2026 will be treated as finalThe second examination will be conducted on the syllabus of main examination 2026
