17,000 students flunk Class XII English exam

Aman Sood

Patiala, May 26

The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) students need to pull up their socks in case they are eyeing greener pastures abroad.

In the PSEB Class XII results, 17,084 of the 2,96,709 students failed to clear English (general) exam. Thus, the pass percentage in the subject stood at 94.24.

A total of 1,755 students out of 2,96,368 flunked Punjabi language exam in Class XII (pass percentage of 99.40). In 2022, 4,510 students had failed in Punjabi exam.

While 367 students failed in maths, 1,185 students failed to clear political science exam. A total of 3,433 students failed in environment education and 1,804 students flunked physical education exam in Class XII.

“Pupils studying at the government schools consider English very tough. Moreover, students shy from communicating in English. Shortage of teachers is also one of the reasons behind such a result,” said government teachers on condition of anonymity.

In Class X board exams, results of which were declared today by the PSEB, maximum students (2,265 out of 2,81,267) failed in Punjabi exam. Thus, 99.19 per cent of the students passed in Punjabi language. A total of 2,176 students out of 2,81,318 flunked English exam. The PSEB recorded a pass percentage of 99.19 in English.

Experts said students failing in languages (English and Punjabi exams) should be taken seriously and a lot needs to be done to inculcate the habit of reading among youngsters.

“Good reading habits can be developed through reading clubs. Books in all languages should be made available at the government schools. Teachers should ensure that the students are reading at least one book per week,” said experts.