Pune division slips to fourth place, distinction numbers fall by 15k

Time of India

13-05-2025

Pune: A slide from the third to the fourth spot in the state, with a significant drop of 15,000 in the number of students who scored distinctions mark the Pune division's SSC result for 2025.
The decline reflects the overall decrease in the pass percentage, which dropped by 1.6% compared to 2024, standing at 94.8%. Last year, 94,151 students scored 75% and above, but this year the number was 79,824. The drop was also observed in the first, second, and pass classes. With the decrease in scores, college principals said a drop of 1-2% in the cut-off marks in top colleges for in-demand courses are most likely.The Pune division, includes the districts of Pune, Ahilyanagar, and Solapur. Of the three, Pune recorded the highest pass percentage at 97.26%, followed by Solapur at 92.83% and Ahilyanagar at 91.84%. A total of 2,63,154 students appeared for the exam, of which 2,49,507 students passed.In Pune, one of the lowest pass percentages among subjects was seen in Marathi, where 94.99% of 2,03,585 students cleared the exam. In contrast, first language subjects fared better. Hindi saw a 98% pass rate, English 98.8%, and Urdu 97.6%. Surprisingly, subjects often perceived as tough—mathematics and science & technology—saw pass percentages of 95.2% and 95.9% respectively, from more than 2.7 lakh students in each subject.Rajendra Zunjarrao, principal of Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, said there would be implications for junior college admissions. "The number of students scoring distinction in the Pune division has dropped, so the FYJC cut-off marks should also dip by 1–2%. But this year, for the first time, FYJC admissions are centralised statewide. We don't know yet if there will be a regional quota or whether students from outside will opt more for Pune colleges. It remains to be seen how the admission rules will play out," he said.Veteran mathematics teacher Shamsuddin Attar attributed the high pass rates to exam design and lenient policies. "With 20 internal marks in maths—where most students score at least 18—and easy 11-mark questions in both papers, it's very hard to fail. Questions like fill-in-the-blanks or activity-based tasks are simple to crack. Plus, there are grace marks and passing rules that further ease the process. The old belief that maths is the toughest subject to pass is now outdated," he said.