JKBOSE Class 12 Results: Kashmir Posts 83 Per Cent Pass Rate as Girls Lead Across Streams | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) on Tuesday declared the results of the Higher Secondary Part Two (Class 12) Annual Examination 2025 for the Kashmir division, recording an overall pass percentage of 83 per cent and reaffirming a steady academic performance across streams, with girl students once again maintaining a clear advantage.

Of the 56,842 students enrolled in the Kashmir division, 47,408 candidates passed the examination. Girls outperformed boys both in overall pass percentage and in the number of distinctions and first divisions secured, continuing a consistent trend observed in recent years.

Stream-wise, the Science stream emerged as the strongest performer with a pass percentage of 88 per cent, followed by Commerce at 85 per cent, while the Arts stream recorded an overall pass rate of 81 per cent. The results underline the sustained academic strength of Science students in Kashmir, even as Arts and Commerce maintained stable outcomes.

Gender-wise data showed that girls recorded an overall pass percentage of 86 per cent, compared to 82 per cent among boys. The gap was particularly pronounced in Science and Commerce subjects, where girls posted significantly higher success rates and dominated the higher merit brackets.

Performance in core science subjects remained robust. Biology recorded a 95 per cent pass rate, Chemistry 94 per cent, and Physics 91 per cent. Mathematics, traditionally among the more challenging subjects, stood at 89 per cent, though boys’ performance in Mathematics remained noticeably lower than that of girls. Computer Science and Informatics Practices continued to attract healthy enrolment and delivered high success rates, reflecting the growing relevance of technology-oriented subjects in higher secondary education.

The Science merit list reflected intense competition and broad institutional representation. Hafsa Sheikh of Kashmir Harvard Higher Secondary School, Habak Naseem Bagh, topped the list with a perfect 500 out of 500 marks, emerging as the sole topper.

The second position was jointly shared by five students who scored 499 marks, drawn from a mix of government and private institutions across Srinagar and south Kashmir.

The third position, at 498 marks, featured students from Sopore, Baramulla, Srinagar, and other district headquarters, underscoring the narrowing margins at the top and the increasingly uniform preparation among high achievers.

A striking feature of the merit list was the overwhelming presence of girl students across the top ranks. From the first position through successive merit brackets, female candidates outnumbered boys by a wide margin, particularly in Science. Several government girls’ higher secondary schools in Srinagar, Baramulla, Sopore, Pulwama, and Anantnag featured repeatedly among the top scorers, alongside prominent private institutions.

The merit list also highlighted a clear distinction in performance patterns between government and private schools. While private institutions continued to produce individual toppers and clusters of high-ranking students, government higher secondary schools accounted for a substantial share of merit positions, especially in the extended top brackets. Schools such as Government Girls Higher Secondary School Kothibagh, Government Higher Secondary School Chanapora, Soura, Baramulla, Pulwama, Sopore, and several institutions from rural and semi-urban belts of the Valley featured prominently, reflecting gradual improvements in instructional stability and examination preparedness in the public education system.

Private schools, including Kashmir Harvard Higher Secondary School, SRM Welkin Sopore, Presentation Convent Rajbagh, and Candid Higher Secondary School, retained an edge in concentrated high performance, pointing to structured academic coaching and sustained exam-oriented preparation.

In the Commerce stream, the merit list showed a more even institutional spread, with government higher secondary schools accounting for a significant share of top-ranking students, particularly in district headquarters and semi-urban areas. Students from government schools in Srinagar, Baramulla, Sopore, Anantnag, and Pulwama featured alongside candidates from established private institutions, reflecting consistent preparation in Accountancy, Business Studies, Economics, and Informatics Practices. Girls once again outperformed boys at the top of the Commerce merit list, and the clustering of high scores suggested improved conceptual clarity and assessment readiness across the division.

The Arts stream merit list reflected the widest social and geographical representation, drawing top performers largely from government schools in rural, border, and interior areas of north and south Kashmir. Subjects such as Political Science, History, Education, and Geography produced a large pool of high achievers, with government institutions dominating the merit positions. Private schools featured far less prominently in Arts, underscoring the central role of the public education system in sustaining humanities education in the Valley. Girls continued to dominate the Arts merit list as well, particularly in Political Science and Education, while the comparatively higher reappear rate in Arts pointed to persistent academic challenges in certain subject combinations.

Language subjects recorded mixed but largely encouraging outcomes. Urdu, one of the most widely taken languages in the Kashmir division, registered a pass percentage of 87 per cent, reflecting steady performance despite its large enrolment base. Kashmiri, Persian, Arabic, Punjabi, and Sanskrit recorded near-total success rates, while English Literature and Functional English saw almost universal pass percentages. Educationists noted that strong results in classical and regional languages highlighted sustained student interest, though the comparatively lower performance in Urdu and Hindi indicated the need for focused pedagogical support in high-enrolment language subjects.

Vocational and skill-based subjects once again delivered outstanding results, with most courses recording pass percentages between 98 and 100 per cent. IT and ITES, Healthcare, Tourism and Hospitality, Retail, Automotive, Agriculture, Plumbing, Electronics and Hardware, and Beauty and Wellness continued to show exceptional outcomes, reinforcing the effectiveness of vocational education at the higher secondary level, even as enrolment in these streams remains modest compared to conventional academic subjects.

In terms of merit distribution, 28,986 students secured distinctions, accounting for over half of the successful candidates. Another 15,803 students achieved first division, while 2,600 were placed in second division. Only 19 students fell in the third division category. However, 9,159 candidates were marked for reappear, constituting 16 per cent of the total, indicating that a significant number of students will need to reattempt one or more papers. The number of outright failures remained low at 275 students.

Education officials said the results reflect both academic resilience and persistent gaps. While overall performance remains strong, particularly among girls and Science students, the reappear figures and weaker outcomes in certain Arts and Mathematics-heavy combinations underline the need for targeted academic support and remedial interventions at the senior secondary level.