New chapter in Tamil Nadu: Class 12, 10 toppers not to be named

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, a day before the announcement of Class 12 results, School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan said that they have put an end to the system of announcing the names of top three rank holders in districts. 

He added that the CBSE had adopted a similar system to reduce the pressure on students who miss top ranks by a few marks. 

“Scholarships will be announced for students in the Tamil medium. Students who have excelled in their academics and extracurricular activities will be included in scholarship schemes,” he said adding that he has also discussed with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy the possibilities of coming up with board exams for class 11 and will arrive at a consensus soon. 

Welcoming the move, PK Illamaran, president, Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association (TNTA), said, “This will drastically reduce the stress levels of the students. They miss out on the first rank by one mark. The first rank holders, over the years, are celebrated and are showered with attention leaving behind the students who miss the rank by a whisker.”

Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder of Sneha suicide prevention centre, said, “We have been getting calls since Monday. We have lost count. We had made several appeals to the government to stop the ranking system for years and now are glad that the decision has been taken. We have had cases of students being stressed about the achievement. The second rank holders often are hard on themselves for missing out by just one mark. This will be beneficial for students.”