Pune: In what could be termed as good news for some students, according to a circular of the Council For The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the passing percentage for the ICSE and ISC examinations will now be cut down. While the pass marks for the ICSE (Class 10) examination would be cut down to 33 per cent instead of the present 35, the passing marks for ISC (Class 12) would be 35 per cent instead of the present 40 per cent.

The new rule, however, will be implemented from the examination year 2019. So the students appearing for the board exams in this academic year, i.e. in 2018 would be assessed with the present pass marks criteria. Those students answering the internal examinations this year would also be marked with the new pass percentage.

The decision has been made following the recommendations made by Inter-Board Working Group (IBWG) with the objective to bring the Boards pass percentage close to the other Boards in the country.

While talking about the decision, the principals of ICSE/ISC schools in the city hailed the move as good and beneficial for the students and said that its impact could only be assessed once it is implemented.