KATHMANDU, JUNE 27
The National Examination Board (NEB) has announced the results of this year's Secondary Education Examination (SEE), with approximately 61.81 per cent of the students who appeared in the Grade X examination receiving the 'grade' that allows them to further their studies in Grade XI.
This year's results showed significant improvement-a whopping 13.95 percentage points-compared to last year when only 47.86 per cent of examinees had cleared the exams.
According to the board's results, the number of 'non-graded' students who were unable to study for Class XI this year exceeded 38 per cent against more than 52 per cent of students who received 'non-grade' scores last year.
The poor performance of the majority of the SEE examinees last year had prompted Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the Ministry of Education repeatedly pushed for efforts to improve SEE results.
Meanwhile, speaking at Purbanchal University's convocation ceremony last week, Prime Minister Oli had predicted that 60 to 65 per cent of students would pass the SEE this time.
Of the 438,896 candidates who participated in the regular exam, 48,177 have a 3.6 to 4 GPA, 81,385 have a 3.2 to 3.6 GPA, 89,124 have a 2.8 to 3.2 GPA, 48,479 have a 2.4 to 2.8 GPA, 4,126 have a 2 to 2.4 GPA, and eight have a 1.6 to 2 GPA.
At Glance
| GPA . | No of students |
| 3.6 to 4 . | 48,177 |
| 3.2 to 3.6 | 81,385 |
| 2.8 to 3.2 | 89,124 |
| 2.4 to 2.8 | 48,479 |
| 2 to 2.4 | 4,126 |
| 1.6 to 2 | 8 |
The 2025 SEE examination began on March 20 and ended on April 1. The exam drew 499,183 students, including 431,466 regular students and 67,715 grade improvement students.
Meanwhile, officials have stated that mathematics was the subject with the highest number of students failing or being 'non-graded.
A total of 128,215 students failed mathematics. The number of students who were not graded in English comes next. 80,672 students failed Science and Technology. A total of 54,735 students failed the theoretical examination for Nepali subjects, while 53,186 failed Social Studies.
"This year, too, students appear to be weak in mathematics," said Examination Board Chairperson Mahashram Sharma. "126 candidates' exams had been cancelled due to various reasons."
To pass the SEE, pupils must score 35 per cent on the theoretical exam and 40 per cent on the practical exam. This means students must receive at least 27 out of 75 full marks in the theoretical section and at least 10 out of 25 full marks in the internal assessment and practical section.
The implementation of the system, known as 'letter grading', put an end to the practice of giving out certificates to everyone who took the exam, as had been done in previous years.
According to new guidelines issued in 2021, when exam results were published, approximately 90,000 students failed last year. Around 75,000 people applied to retake the SEE this time.
This year, 48 people from various juvenile correctional homes and prisons took the SEE exam.
This time, only 46 people from Manang took the SEE exam, while Kathmandu had the most candidates- approximately 39,000. Moreover, SEE also witnessed 30 students from gender and sexual minority communities.
Students who have not passed the SEE will be able to take the opportunity exam beginning August 14.
According to the NEB, the number of students taking the SEE this year increased by nearly 50,000 compared to the previous year.
There were concerns that the publication of results would be delayed this year after teachers across the country staged a month-long protest demanding several demands, including the immediate issuance of the School Education Act following the SEE exam. Despite the challenges, NEB was able to publish the results on time.
