STUDENTS enrolled in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka education boards are more likely to choose the Science stream in their Class XI-XII with less than 2 per cent in three of these states opting for Arts. However, Arts is the preferred option for their counterparts in West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Jharkhand, according to a Union Government study. Records show that in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, of those who appeared in Class 12 boards in 2022, Arts stream students accounted for a mere 1.53 per cent, 2.01 per cent and 2.19 per cent respectively. The top five states (excluding Northeast) where Science was the popular pick were: Andhra Pradesh (75.63 per cent); Telangana (64.59 per cent); Tamil Nadu (61.50 per cent); Uttar Pradesh (57.13); and Kerala (44.50 per cent). Among Northeast states, in Manipur as many as 68.87 per cent of those who took the Class XII board exams opted for Science. The top five states where most state board students chose Arts were: Gujarat (81.55 per cent); West Bengal (78.94 per cent); Punjab (72.89 per cent); Haryana (73.76 per cent); Rajasthan (71.23 per cent). In the Northeast, Arts is the popular choice in Meghalaya (82.62), Tripura (85.12 per cent) and Nagaland (79.62 per cent). During the academic session 2021-22, the least takers for Science were in West Bengal (13.42 per cent); Punjab (13.71 per cent); Haryana (15.63 per cent), Gujarat (18.33 per cent) and Jharkhand (22.91 per cent). The study, which was carried out as part of the Centre's efforts to bring equivalence in assessment among various education boards, found that the percentage of students who cleared high school in 2022 also varied "significantly" among boards. The average pass percentage of state boards in Class 12 was 86.3 per cent in 2022, compared to 93.1 per cent in Central boards. These numbers reflect a significant national trend as in 2022, of all Class 12 board exam candidates, as high as 87 per cent belonged to state boards, and 13 per cent were affiliated to Central boards, including CBSE. Considered separately, CBSE students accounted for just 10 per cent of the total candidates who registered to take the Class 12 exam across boards. "We have shared the study with the states as well. PARAKH will look into the meaning behind these numbers," said Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), is a new division under the NCERT which has been tasked with addressing differences in assessment, which results in disparities in scores of board exams, among various state boards and the CBSE. In the case of Central board students, 49.91 per cent students belonged to Science stream, while of the class of 2022, 16.31 per cent were pursuing Arts.
