The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations (TNDGE) formally announced the highly awaited SSLC (Class X) results for the year 2025. The declaration, made at 9 am on May 16, has caused immense relief and happiness to more than nine lakh students who sat for the exams held from March 28 to April 15 this year. A total of 9,13,084 candidates registered for the SSLC examinations in this year, out of which 4,46,471 boys and 4,40,499 girls wrote the examinations throughout the state.

The overall pass rate has displayed impressive improvement, jumping to 93.80%. This represents a jump of 2.25 percentage points over last year’s pass rate of 91.55%, the indication of a positive effect of educational reforms and improved scholastic support throughout Tamil Nadu. Of the cleared students, a total of 8,17,261 candidates have been certified as successful, a number that is indicative of the increasing scholastic performance.

Dividing the outcomes by gender shows that girls have again outperformed boys, with a 95.88% pass rate. Of the 4,35,119 girls who sat for the examination, 4,17,183 passed the examination successfully. Boys, however, fared a bit better with a pass rate of 91.74%, with all 4,00,078 boy candidates passing the examinations. This trend once again points to the consistent academic improvement of female students in the state.

District-wise performance reflects the competitive zeal among districts, and Sivaganga district takes the lead with a staggering 98.31% pass rate, followed closely by Virudhunagar at 97.45%. Thoothukudi, Kanyakumari, and Trichy districts also showed exceptional performance with pass rates of 96.76%, 96.66%, and 96.61%, respectively. Chennai, the capital city, also witnessed some stunning individual performances, with the best performer in the zone being BS Tejasvini from Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School, Saidapet, who scored the highest in the zone at 492 out of 500 marks.

The outcomes also show impressive performance in special categories. Differently-abled students, totaling 12,290, displayed exemplary perseverance, with 11,409 passing the exams and a pass percentage of 92.83%. Prisoner candidates also fared well, with 237 appearing for the exams and 230 passing, which indicates a 97.05% pass percentage. Independent candidates fared worse with a pass percentage of 40.46%, 9,616 out of a total of 23,769 candidates passing the exams.

Institutionally, the outcomes reveal the extent of tremendous improvement in most schools, particularly government schools. A total of 12,485 schools from Tamil Nadu saw 4,917 recording a 100% pass rate, with government schools taking the lead by producing 91.26% of these fully passed schools. This reflects the ongoing efforts in enhancing public education and enhancing learning for students from diverse backgrounds.

In addition to the SSLC results, the Directorate has also published an estimation of the Higher Secondary (+1) results, and it recorded an all-India pass percentage of 92.09%. This reflects an improvement of 0.92 percentage points over last year’s record of 91.17%. The maximum success has occurred in the science stream, with 5,40,841 students appearing and 5,14,241 passing, resulting in a pass percentage of 95.08%. In the district-wise classification, Ariyalur led the Higher Secondary result with a stunning 97.76% pass percentage.

Students who wrote the SSLC exam can find their results online through several official websites, namely tnresults.nic.in, dge.tn.gov.in, apply1.tndge.org, dge1.tn.nic.in, dge2.tn.nic.in, and results.digilocker.gov.in. Students should log in with their Registration Number and Date of Birth, upon which they can download their scorecards for further reference.

The state government of Tamil Nadu has also clearly defined the passing requirements — students need to score a minimum of 35 marks in all subjects to pass the examination. Those who fail in one or two subjects can apply for the supplementary exam to boost their scores. Moreover, students who seek to oppose their marks may seek re-totalling on the official site by paying Rs 205 for each subject, or Rs 305 in case of two subjects, within the time limit.

The declaration of these results has been greeted with joy throughout the state, announcing a rosy academic future for Tamil Nadu’s students. The tremendous improvement in pass percentage is an indication of the devotion of teachers, students, and education officials alike. The exemplary performances in the districts such as Sivaganga and the consistent increase in girls’ pass percentages are the pointer to the state’s interest in inclusive and quality education.

As the students bask in their triumphs, many are already set to plan for the next academic achievements. With such positive outcomes, Tamil Nadu’s education sector seems to be on a solid upward sweep, providing a yardstick for excellence and motivating future generations to go higher and higher.