CBSE Class 12 Pass Rate Drops, 56,000 More Failures This Year, Compartments Rise — How Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, HP Fared
CBSE Class 12 Pass rate falls, compartments rise sharply. Here’s how Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh performed — and whether OSM, the new digital marking system, is making results stricter.
North Desk Bureau
Chandigarh, May 13
The Central Board of Secondary Education declared Class XII results today. The national pass percentage has fallen by 3.19 %, compartment cases have jumped sharply, and this is the first year CBSE has evaluated nearly one crore answer books entirely through On Screen Marking (OSM). North Desk breaks down what the numbers mean, and how students in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh fared.
Q: What is the CBSE Class 12 pass percentage this year?
85.20%. That compares to 88.39% last year — a fall of 3.19 percentage points. In raw numbers, roughly 56,000 more students failed compared to 2025. That is not a rounding error. That is 56,000 families receiving a different result than they may have expected.
Q: How many students appeared and how many passed?
Of the 17,68,968 students who appeared nationally, 15,07,109 passed. Last year, 14,96,307 passed out of 16,92,794 who appeared. So while more students sat the exam this year, fewer cleared it — both in percentage and in the context of the compartment surge.
Q: What about compartments — students who failed in one subject?
This is where the numbers get sharper. Compartment cases have risen from 1,29,095 in 2025 — which was 7.63% — to 1,63,800 in 2026, which is 9.26%. That is an increase of nearly 35,000 students placed in compartment in a single year.
Q: Is there a connection with the new digital marking system CBSE introduced this year?
CBSE introduced full-scale On Screen Marking — OSM — for Class XII evaluation in 2026, calling it the biggest such exercise in the country. Under OSM, evaluators assess scanned answer books on screen and can only award marks strictly as per the marking scheme. CBSE’s own press release states that evaluators award marks “as per the marking scheme only.”
Whether stricter adherence to marking schemes — with less room for examiner discretion — contributed to the rise in failures and compartments is a question CBSE has not addressed. The timing is notable. North Desk is not asserting a causal link — but the question deserves to be asked.
Q: How did Chandigarh perform?
Chandigarh at 88.96% comfortably beat the national average of 85.20%. Girls led boys here — 91.27% versus 86.73%, a gap of 4.54 percentage points. Of 19,110 students who appeared, 17,000 passed.
Q: What about Punjab?
Punjab’s results fall under the Ludhiana CBSE region. The region recorded 87.92% — again above the national average. Girls outperformed boys here too — 90.24% versus 85.76%. Of 1,23,836 students who appeared, 1,08,874 passed. The compartment figure for Ludhiana region stands at 9,977 students — a compartment rate of 8.06%.
Q: And Haryana?
Haryana falls under the Panchkula CBSE region. Pass percentage here was 85.73% — the closest among our states to the national average, and just above it. Girls again led — 88.92% versus 83.16% for boys. Of 72,501 students who appeared, 62,158 passed. Compartment cases in the Panchkula region stood at 6,619 — a rate of 9.13%, higher than Punjab’s region.
Q: How did Himachal Pradesh do?
This is perhaps the most quietly impressive performance in the region. Himachal Pradesh recorded 89.60% — the highest among the four states covered by North Desk, and well above the national average. Girls led at 91.84% against boys at 87.61%. Of 11,885 students who appeared, 10,649 passed. A smaller state with smaller infrastructure, outperforming its larger neighbours.
Q: Do girls consistently outperform boys?
Yes, and by a significant margin nationally. The national pass percentage for girls is 88.86% against 82.13% for boys — a gap of 6.73 percentage points. This pattern holds across Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh without exception.
Q: Who performed best institutionally?
Kendriya Vidyalayas led nationally at 98.55%, followed by Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas at 98.47%. Government schools came in at 89.55%. Independent — meaning private — schools recorded 84.22%, below the national average.
Q: When were the exams held and when is the next step?
The Class XII main examination ran from February 17 to April 10, 2026 — 52 days, three more than last year’s 49. Results were declared today, May 13. Students unsatisfied with their results can avail post-result facilities from May 18. The supplementary examination for compartment students is scheduled for July 15, 2026.
