Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Mar 12: Following the recent changes implemented for SSLC and II PU, the department of school education and literacy has officially lowered the minimum passing marks for I PU students from 35 to 33 per cent effective from this academic year.

The order, is set to benefit approximately six lac students who appear for the I PU examinations annually. Unlike the SSLC and II PU levels, which involve centralized valuation, I PU answer scripts are evaluated at the respective school or college levels.

In July 2025, the state government had scaled down the pass marks for SSLC (Class X) and II PU to 33 per cent, effective from the March 2026 examinations. This move was intended to align the state’s grading system with other national boards, such as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

The latest order stated that the decision to extend this minimum pass percentage to I PU was taken to ‘maintain uniformity in the evaluation method and enhance the academic quality among the students’. Consequently, the Karnataka Pre-University Examination (Method of Evaluation) Rules, 2025, will be amended to reflect this change.

"Since the II PU pass percentage is fixed at 33, the same is being adopted for I PU as well," said Bharat S, director of the department of PU education. The I PU examinations are expected to be completed and results declared by March 31.

Welcoming the decision, Ningegowda A H, president of the Karnataka State Pre-University College Lecturers' Association, remarked that the move would provide a level playing field for students across different educational boards.