CBSE Class 12 results 2026: Why the Board chose not to release merit list

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education on Wednesday announced the Class 12 Results 2026 but decided against releasing a merit list, saying the move was aimed at avoiding unhealthy competition among students.

In a press release issued along with the results, the board said it would instead issue merit certificates to the top 0.1 per cent of students who secured the highest marks in individual subjects.

The board also recorded a decline in the overall pass percentage this year. According to official data, the overall pass percentage for full subjects stood at 85.20 per cent in 2026, down by 3.19 percentage points from 88.39 per cent in 2025.

CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said more than 85 per cent of students cleared the examinations, with over 94,000 candidates scoring above 90 per cent marks.

He further said that more than 17,000 students secured above 95 per cent marks in the Class 12 board examinations.

At the same time, over 1.63 lakh students were placed in the compartment category, marking an increase of nearly two percentage points compared to last year.

Girls once again outperformed boys in the examinations, recording a pass percentage of over 88 per cent, while the pass percentage among boys stood at 82 per cent.

The CBSE Class 12 results were declared on Wednesday and are available on the official result portals, including CBSE Results Portal, CBSE Official Website, CBSE Results Website, DigiLocker and Results.gov.in.

Students can check their results by visiting the official website, opening the results tab, clicking on the Class XII result link, entering their login credentials and submitting the details to access the scorecard.