II PU exam results: Arts pass percentage down, science numbers up

There is a steep decline in the pass percentage in the Arts stream this year, while the pass percentage in the Science stream has seen a huge jump.

The pass percentage in Arts stands at 41.27%, down from 50.53% last year — an increase of 9.26 percentage points. On the other hand, the pass percentage in the Science stream has increased from 66.58% to 76.2%.

The pass percentage in the Commerce stream has declined marginally — 65.52% this year from 66.39% last year, a decrease of 0.87 percentage points.

The pass percentage only for freshers stands at 82.27% in the Science stream, 72.60% in Commerce, and 47.9% in Arts.

K.R. Manjunath, principal of MES PU College and general secretary of Karnataka State PU College Principals’ Association, said the huge decline in Arts pass percentage could be attributed to the poor performance of rural students in the Economics and English papers. “Students in the Arts stream have the NCERT syllabus for Economics, which they are struggling with. Students have failed in the Economics and English language papers, and this is responsible for the decline in pass percentage,” he said. He added that there was a need for more orientation programmes for teachers.

Thimmaiah Purle, honorary president of Karnataka State PU College Lecturers’ Association, said many students who pursue this stream come from poor socio-economic backgrounds in rural areas. “The students attend classes and also take up various odd jobs to meet the financial requirements of their families. Many students may also miss classes if they have to be at work,” he said. He also pointed out that the Arts stream was often the last priority for students who did not get seats in the Science and Commerce streams because of their higher cut-offs.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar said officials were yet to analyse the results. “We will strive to improve next year after going through the causes,” he said.

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