Rural students in Dakshina Kannada catch up with urban peers in SSLC

Mangaluru: The SSLC-1 results announced on Friday reveal that rural students are performing almost on par with their urban counterparts. While rural students secured a 90.7% pass percentage, with 15,543 students out of 17,142 clearing the exam, their urban peers achieved a 91.8% pass rate, with 9,783 out of 10,654 candidates passing.
Teachers and academicians attribute this narrowing gap to improved learning platforms, enhanced infrastructure, increased awareness among parents, and the availability of coaching opportunities in rural areas. A decade ago, the gap was significant, with many rural students unable to clear the SSLC exam compared to urban candidates. An official noted that many rural students not only cleared the exam on their first attempt, but also scored top marks, with some securing over 620 marks.
Govt high school teacher Shambhu Shankar from Belthangady said that in the past, urban students consistently outperformed their rural counterparts in the SSLC exam. This gap was largely due to better infrastructure, coaching facilities, and greater awareness among urban parents. In contrast, rural schools lacked basic facilities, and many parents were not well educated, or paid little attention to attendance or academic performance. However, the rural education landscape has significantly improved in recent years. Many parents now have at least basic education, and students often have elder siblings or relatives in higher studies, which motivates them to perform better. While coaching facilities are available in select areas, overall infrastructure and the academic environment in government high schools have improved considerably, he said.
DDPI Govinda Madivala said rural schools, especially government and aided ones, are gaining strength. In contrast, many urban students come from migrant families and show less academic interest. Meanwhile, rural students benefit from stricter academic monitoring by parents, teachers, and SDMCs. Girls continue to excel in rural and urban areas.
148 schools with 100% results
Out of the 521 high schools in DK, 148 have achieved 100% results . Among these, 48 are govt high schools, and 40 are located in rural areas. Some of these govt schools have consistently scored 100% results for consecutive years. Govt high schools have achieved a total of 87.6% results, while aided high schools achieved 89.8% results. In terms of management-wise results, unaided high schools have secured the first position with 94.6%.
Children with special needs performed exceptionally well in the exam. Out of the 273 special children who appeared in the exam, a total 251 passed.