In a state where English was supposed to be the language that ‘terrorised’ students, prompting even politicians to oppose it, this year's Uttar Pradesh board high school results have thrown up a surprise.
The results of the class 10 esams declared on Friday showed a pass percentage that was 13 per cent more than the last year. But over three lakh students failed in Hindi language paper, much to the shock of board officials.
Of 35 lakh students who had appeared for exams, a mere 1,500 managed to get 91 per cent or more in the Hindi paper, said an official.
About 40 per cent of the students secured above 50 per cent marks in the paper.
“There was a drop of 20 per cent in the number of students securing first division in Hindi,” added the official.
“Many students, who secured over 90 per cent in Maths, could get only 40-45 per cent in Hindi,” he said.
According to the rules, students failing in Hindi are declared unsuccessful.
Perplexed board officials fail to pinpoint any specific reason for such a poor performance.
“We will certainly look into the results and analyse it to come to some conclusion,'' an official said.
English used to be the language that caused most difficulties for students, especially those coming from rural areas, officials added.
Some teachers said students do not pay attention to Hindi thinking they will be able to clear the exam as it is their mother tongue.
The results this year was better than the previous year — over 83 per cent students were declared successful.
The pass percentage of girls was 87 per cent while that of the boys stood at 80 per cent.