The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) declared the Class X results on Monday, revealing a mixed performance this year. While the overall pass percentage declined compared to the previous year, rural students significantly outperformed their urban counterparts, and girls continued to maintain their lead over boys.
Overall Pass Percentage Drops
A total of approximately 2.7 lakh candidates appeared for the examination, out of which 2.5 lakh students successfully cleared it. The overall pass percentage stood at 94.5%, a decrease from 95.6% recorded last year. The number of students appearing in the examination also saw a decline of more than 8,000 compared to 2025.
Rural Students Outperform Urban
Rural students emerged ahead of urban candidates by over 2.3 percentage points. Rural areas recorded a pass percentage of 95.3%, while urban students registered 93%. Out of 1,74,958 rural candidates, 1,66,830 passed, compared to 87,914 out of 94,547 urban students.
Girls Lead Boys
Girls continued to outperform boys, recording a pass percentage of 96% against 93.2% among boys. All six transgender candidates who appeared in the examination passed.
Merit List and Top Performers
The merit list reflected a broad regional spread, with students from Faridkot, Rupnagar, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka, Sangrur, and Patiala figuring among the toppers. Several government school students from rural and semi-urban areas also secured top positions.
Harleen Sharma of Saraswati Senior Secondary School, Jaito, in Faridkot district topped the state with 646 out of 650 marks (99.38%). Government school student Manimahesh Sharma of Govt Senior Secondary School, Chanauli Bassi, in Rupnagar secured the second position with 645 marks, while Riya Rani of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Hoshiarpur, also scored 645 marks.
Education Minister's Remarks
Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains attributed the strong rural performance to improved infrastructure and teacher training under the state government's education reforms.
