The Impressive TimesBengaluru- In a major move aimed at improving student outcomes and aligning with national evaluation standards, the Karnataka government has released draft rules to overhaul the evaluation system for SSLC (Class 10) and II PU (Class 12) board examinations. These changes, effective from the 2025–26 academic year, include reducing the pass percentage from 35% to 33% and factoring in internal assessments toward final marks.
Under the proposed amendments by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB), students will now be required to score 33% of total marks to pass, down from the current 35%. Importantly, the pass percentage will be calculated by combining both internal assessment and external exam marks.
For example, out of a total 625 marks, a student must now score at least 206 marks to pass, including a minimum of 30% in each subject.
The total marks for the first language will remain 125, while all other subjects will continue to have 100 marks each.
Similarly, for II PU (Pre-University) students:
The minimum aggregate pass marks have been brought down to 33%, including both written exams and internal/practical assessments.
Students must score at least 30% in each subject to pass.
For subjects with no practical or internal assessment, students must score 24 out of 80 marks in the written exam.
For subjects with practical exams, students need 21 out of 70 marks in the written component.
The rules also revamp the practical examination framework:
Instead of 30 marks being assigned solely to the practicals, 20 marks will be allocated for the practical exam, and 10 marks will be awarded based on eligibility criteria, such as:
Minimum 75% attendance (theory + practical)
Completion of required number of practicals
Properly maintained record book
Appearance in the final practical exam
Karnataka has historically witnessed lower pass percentages in both SSLC and II PU exams compared to central boards like CBSE. In SSLC 2025 Exam-1, only 62% students passed (5.28 lakh out of 8.68 lakh students). Similarly, II PU-1 had a pass rate of 69.16%, with 6.37 lakh students appearing.
Experts have long attributed the low success rate to high pass mark thresholds and exclusion of internal assessments. The new reforms aim to ease student burden, align with national standards, and improve overall pass rates without compromising academic integrity.
These are draft rules as of now and are open for public feedback. Once finalized, the revised evaluation criteria will be officially adopted for the 2025–26 academic year and beyond.
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