Matric examination results, facts and implications
Awaz E Bihar••62 views•5 min read
Maulana Sanaullah Qasmi The Bihar School Examination Board released the result of the 2026 matriculation examination on March 29, with Sabreen Parveen, daughter of Muhammad Shahzad, and Pushpanjali Kumari jointly securing the top position in the state. Both of them obtained 492 marks out of a total of 500, with a percentage of 98.4. Previously, in 2023, Muhammad Roman Ashraf had topped the exam with 489 marks. For the past decade, no Muslim student had achieved this feat. A notable aspect of this result is that among the top ten successful candidates, eleven are Muslim students.
Sabreen Parveen is a resident of Chhoraahi village in the Chera Kaalaan block of Vaishali district and had taken the exam from the Higher Secondary School in Chhoraahi. Pushpanjali Kumari, a resident of Samtal in Jammu, had taken the exam from the residential school there. Her father, Lal Mohan Sharma, is a teacher at Bhagwanpur School, and her mother, Vasundhara Devi, is a homemaker. Those familiar with Chhoraahi know that it is a small settlement, but it holds significance as it was once home to Ehsan Hasan Khan, a renowned poet.
The second position was secured by Naahid Sultana from Begusarai, who obtained 97.6% marks, equivalent to 483 marks. Among Muslim students, Nasreen Parveen from Bhojpur secured the fifth position, while Ayesha Khatoon from Banka, Shamsher Ahmed from Samastipur, and Babar Ali from Vaishali jointly secured the sixth position. Shama Parveen and Muhammad Tauheed shared the seventh position, while Saina Parveen secured the eighth position, and Samia Ejaz and Sadia Samee shared the ninth position. Sadia Samee is a resident of the Aurai block in Muzaffarpur district and was a student at the SS Urdu High School in Aurai. All of these students attributed their success to their parents and mentioned that they studied for 15 hours a day.
Their success indicates that our girls are making significant progress in education. Among the top nine Muslim students, only one is a boy, Babar Ali, while the rest are girls. A similar trend is observed among students of other faiths, where girls have outperformed boys. An analysis of various exams over the past two decades reveals that girls are more dedicated and serious about their studies than boys. Even in this era of social media, girls remain focused on their education.
This year, the pass percentage of successful candidates is 81.79%, with 86.23% of girls and 84.9% of boys clearing the exam. Due to the tie in marks, a total of 139 students secured a position among the top ten, which is a significant number. The gap between the top ten positions is just eleven marks. Previously, in 2025, 123 students had made it to the top ten, while in 2024, only 51 students achieved this feat.
The girls who secured the top position have broken all previous records, with 492 marks out of 500, surpassing the 489 marks obtained by the topper in the previous year. This year, 15,10,928 students appeared for the matriculation exam, with 7,26,057 boys and 7,84,871 girls. Out of these, 12,35,743 students passed, with 6,01,390 boys and 6,34,353 girls clearing the exam.
An analysis of the results reveals that students from smaller towns and rural areas have performed better. Perhaps this is because there are fewer distractions in these areas compared to larger cities. District-wise, Begusarai topped the list with 17 toppers, followed by Aurangabad. The state capital, Patna, which is considered the educational hub of Bihar, had only one student, Suhani Sonam, who secured the tenth position from a private school.
The successful students will be awarded prizes, with the first position receiving Rs 2 lakh, the second position receiving Rs 1.5 lakh, and the third position receiving Rs 1 lakh. They will also receive a monthly scholarship of Rs 2,000 for two years. The Bihar School Examination Board released the results in just 28 days, evaluating over 90 lakh answer sheets. The pass percentage this year is 81.79%, which is slightly lower than the 82.11% and 82.91% achieved in 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The process of determining the toppers has become more rigorous, with the board re-evaluating the answer sheets of the top ten students before announcing the results. The students are then called for an interview in Patna, where they are asked questions related to the syllabus to verify their knowledge. Their handwriting is also matched with their answer sheets to ensure that they are genuine. This rigorous process ensures transparency and fairness in the evaluation process.
The improvement in the evaluation process can be attributed to the efforts of Anand Kishore, the chairman of the Bihar School Examination Board. For this, he deserves appreciation from students, parents, and guardians. If teachers in schools focus on improving the quality of education, the pass percentage can be further improved. Despite efforts by the education department, there is still a shortage of quality education. While the attendance of teachers in schools has improved, the culture of teaching and learning has not yet been established.
The infrastructure in schools is also inadequate, with many middle and high schools operating in just two or three rooms. The number of teachers has increased, but there is a lack of classrooms and space for students to sit and learn. As a result, many students drop out after completing their primary education, unable to read or write. The practice of using teachers for non-academic tasks, such as election duty and other administrative work, also hampers the education system.
For quality education, the attention of parents and guardians is also crucial, as students spend most of their time at home. The government, teachers, and parents are all stakeholders in the education system, and any lapse on their part can weaken the system. Nevertheless, the result of the examination is satisfactory, and the institution congratulates all successful students and wishes them a bright future.
