2021 CBSE and ISCE Grade XII Results Out

The exams for Grade 12 students are the Indian equivalent of A levels and the IB Diploma although, arguably, for students planning to enter university in India, not as critical given the importance of specific university entrance examinations on admissions. That said, with increasing numbers of UAE-based students planning university destinations overseas, they are often the key public examination results required for admission.

Unlike the UK Boards and the International Baccalaureate Organisation, who, for the second year, relied on a process of Centre Assessed Grades (Teacher predicted grades) and examiner-marked assessments, where applicable, the Indian boards required schools to submit past and current year marks to arrive at assessed grades. 

It will be interesting to see whether the level of grade inflation that has clearly resulted from the processes used for UK and IB curricula, applies equally to the schemes adopted by the Indian Boards, and how that will impact students when examinations are resumed.

For CBSE students, marks were calculated on a 30:30:40 formula, according to which a weighting of 30 percent was given to Grade 10 marks, a further 30 percentage weighting to Grade 11 marks and a 40 percent weighting to Grade 12 marks obtained in unit tests, mid-term and pre-board exams.

In the absence of examinations, CISCE students were awarded grades based on a range of parameters, including the past performance at the school, project scores, mock examinations and in-person practical examinations that students had taken.

The majority of Indian institutions in the UAE follow the Central Board of Secondary Education with only a small number of schools in the UAE following the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.

On Friday, more than 10,000 students from 90 CBSE schools in the UAE received their Grade XII results. Apparently, students at nearly all CBSE schools in the UAE achieved a 100 percent pass percentage.

Fatima Martin, Principal of GEMS New Millennium School, Al Khail, said: “Today is a day to celebrate the wonderful results and the triumph of the human spirit, as it has been a tough academic year for students.” The 2021 cohort achieved an average of 80.83%, with the Science stream average 82.09% and the Commerce stream 78.71%.  An impressive 19% of students scored 90% and above.

Gulf Indian High School in Dubai was among those with 100 percent pass results. Principal Muhammad Ali Kottakkulam, said: “After grooming the students through the pandemic, it was challenging for the schools, teachers, students, and parents to reach this point of success.”

Dr Manju Reji, Principal of India International School, Sharjah, said the results would make college admission easier. “We are sure that all students will be easily admitted to colleges of their choice.”

Several Indian schools in Abu Dhabi secured a 100 percent pass rate, with 95 students of a cohort of 290 students at Abu Dhabi Indian School, scoring more than 90 percent. Principal Neeraj Bhargava lauded the efforts of the students and teachers. “This is a very good result. My best wishes to everyone for a glorious future.”

V.V. Abdul Kader, Principal at the Model School Abu Dhabi, said the school’s average score was 85.14%. Out of 38 students, five were awarded more than 95 percent and 10 more than 90 percent. 

At Private International English School (PIES) - popularly known as Bhavans Abu Dhabi - Principal Girija Baiju congratulated all 64 students for achieving a school average of 91.66 percent. “It’s been a long hard road, but students accomplished their goal as they worked hard for three years.”

Mayoor Private School, Abu Dhabi, also recorded a 100-percent pass rate, with all 37 students securing first division passes.

And at Shining Star International School, Principal Abhilasha Singh said the students have done well despite a strict evaluation process. “It’s a proud moment for the school to achieve 100 percent despite the strict assessment”.

For CISCE schools, GEMS Modern Academy's Grade 12 cohort of 139 pupils achieved an average score of almost 94 percent – the highest batch average the school has had in its 34-year history. Over 50 percent of students at the school scored 95 percent and above in the ISC examination – including 23 who achieved perfect scores in mathematics. Nargish Khambatta, Principal and CEO of GEMS Modern Academy, described the results as “excellent".

“Every single child is a topper for having just gone through the year,” Ms. Khambatta said. “To put their performance in perspective, our children were thrust into distance and hybrid learning and assessments, vacillating from virtual simulations to real lab experiments, and yet everyone expected so much from the batch of 2020-21. Now that the results are out, our students can finally get on with their lives and seriously plan for their university sojourn.”

Grade 12 pupils at Ambassador School in Dubai recorded an average score of more than 91 percent, a record for the school. Last year, the average grade there was just under 90 percent.

Sheela Menon, Ambassador School Principal said “We are very proud of all our pupils who have performed extremely well to achieve their individual targets irrespective of the challenging times. The consistency in record-breaking results for the last four years reflects the collaborative efforts of our pupils and teachers.”

At JSS International School, Dubai, the ISC school average was at 91.71 percent this year, an increase of 4.1 percent compared to last year. A total of 57 students appeared for the ISC examination.

Lata Nakra, Principal of JSS International School, said: “Despite these challenging times and with the cloud of uncertainty looming large over the little heads of our Grade 10 and 12 students, the school is very happy and proud that their students have advanced academically and today’s results are just a reflection of that upward trend in their performance.”

For students who did not achieve the expected results, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had told the Indian Supreme Court that students dissatisfied with the results may appear for optional exams, likely to be conducted between August 15 to September 15, provided that the situation is conducive amid the pandemic, though it is not clear whether this will apply to overseas entrants.

For CISCE students who may not be satisfied with their results, the Board had said that if a candidate has objections regarding the computation of marks in their results, students may send an application to the school, stating the objection in detail.

“In the event a candidate has objection(s) regarding computation of marks in the result, she/he may make a written application to the school, stating the objection in detail along with reasons thereof,” the CISCE has said. Schools will be required to review all such applications, and only after being satisfied with the reason provided, will forward the application to the CISCE.