HS Final Results: Barak Valley Struggles Across Streams, Science Only Bright Spot

The Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) on Tuesday (28 April) announced the Class 12 (HS Final Year) examination results, with Barak Valley districts featuring among the bottom three in every stream across the state, reflecting a concerning performance trend.

According to official data, the three Barak Valley districts, Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi, collectively underperformed in Arts, Commerce, Science and Vocational streams when compared to other districts of Assam. In the Arts stream, Cachar recorded a pass percentage of 59.83%, the lowest in the state, followed by Hailakandi at 62.85%, placing both districts in the bottom two positions. Sribhumi performed relatively better at 79.73% but remained below several top-performing districts.

In Commerce, Hailakandi again featured among the bottom three with a pass percentage of 69.68%, while Cachar led the Barak Valley districts at 77.48%. Sribhumi stood at 73.59%. Despite some variation, the region failed to match leading districts where pass percentages reached near perfect levels, although those figures were often based on smaller candidate pools.

The Science stream showed comparatively stronger results from Barak Valley, yet Hailakandi still appeared among the lowest performers in the state with 81.17%. Sribhumi emerged as the best performer within the valley at 92.32%, followed by Cachar at 88.14%, indicating a relatively better academic outcome in this stream.

Performance in the Vocational stream remained inconsistent and statistically less reliable due to very low candidate numbers. However, Sribhumi recorded the lowest pass percentage in the state at 9.09%, followed by Hailakandi at 25.00%, again placing Barak Valley districts in the bottom tier.

Statewide comparisons show districts such as Baksa, Darrang and Lakhimpur dominating the Arts stream, while Tamulpur and West Karbi Anglong led in Science. In Commerce and Vocational streams, several districts reported 100% pass rates, though these figures were based on very small numbers of candidates.

Within Barak Valley, a clear academic pattern emerges when comparing streams. Science consistently outperforms the others, suggesting stronger student selection, better academic focus and possibly improved institutional support in that stream. Commerce holds a middle ground, reflecting relatively stable but not standout performance across districts. In contrast, Arts continues to lag behind, indicating a structural imbalance in stream preference and student distribution. The gap between Science and Arts highlights how academic outcomes in the region are not just performance-driven but also shaped by long-standing perceptions and choices around streams.

Earlier Class 10 board results were also poor, with Cachar ranking lowest in the state. A similar pattern has now emerged in the Arts stream, where Cachar again recorded the lowest pass percentage. This could be due to a broader academic trend seen in the valley, where students with higher scores in Class 10 are often guided towards Science or Commerce. As a result, a significant number of lower scoring students opt for Arts, which is widely perceived as a comparatively easier stream. This filtering effect may be contributing to the consistently lower performance seen in the Arts stream across Barak Valley districts.