“Exam prep important but equally important is to pursue your hobbies”: Punjab girls excel in CBSE results 2025

The CBSE’s Chandigarh region, which comprises state/UTs of Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, has recorded an overall pass percentage of 91.61 per cent in class 12, higher than the national average of 88.39 per cent. In class 10, the region has recorded an overall pass percentage of 93.71 per cent, slightly higher than the national average of 93.66 per cent.

Jainika Jain, a student of BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, scored 99.8 per cent, in class X. She scored a perfect hundred in science, social studies, English and designing and innovation, 97 in maths and 99 in Punjabi. Her father works with a private firm while mother is a homemaker.

Jainika says that she has now opted for professional stream commerce with financial skills (CFS) in class 11 as she wishes to pursue a career in financial accounting and investments.

In class XII, Yamuna Goyal, also a student of BCM, was the top scorer in the city. She has scored 99.4 per cent in commerce stream with a hundred on hundred in accountancy, business studies and english, 99 in mass media, 98 in economics and 88 in maths (additional subject).

A resident of Dugri, her father Manish Goyal is a businessman and mother Neha Goyal is a homemaker.

Class X top scorer Jainika Jain (Express photo: Gurmeet Singh)

“I am aiming to take admission in Delhi University to pursue graduation in economics honors. I wish to pursue a career in policy making or civil services,” she said. “I would only suggest to my peers that they should not stress about board exams and keep doing what they really like. Exam preparation is important but equally important is to keep pursuing your hobbies either reading books or listening to music. NCERT books are really important for board exams preparation,” she says.

In humanities stream, Ludhiana’s Gungeet Kaur Dua, a student of Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, scored 98.8 per cent marks, with a perfect hundred in applied arts and Bharatnatyam (dance form). She scored 98 in political science, English and psychology.
Her father Harpreet Singh Dua is an acclaimed academician and syndicate member, Panjab University, Chandigarh, while mother Prabhjeet Dua is a headmistress in a private school.

Gungeet feels that the humanities/arts stream is still considered inferior to science and commerce, which is “sad” and needs awareness.
“Every subject requires hard work. Excelling in the humanities also requires a lot of effort and focus. Every child should be allowed to pursue what he/she wants to,” she says. “It is high time that this notion associated with humanities, that it isn’t competitive enough, should be shunned,” she adds.

Commerce stream top scorer Yamuna Goyal (Express Photo/Gurmeet Singh)

In science stream, Harsimran Kaur from BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, scored 98.4 per cent marks in non-medical stream, and Rasleen Kaur from DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, scored 97.4 per cent in medical stream.

In Jalandhar, Adaa Puri, a student of MGN Public School Urban Estate, scored an impressive 99.8% in class X. Her results were outstanding across the board, with perfect marks in English, Math, Punjabi, and computer science, and a close 99 in science and 97 in social studies.

Adaa said, “I mainly relied on self-study and free YouTube classes for most of my subjects. For mathematics, I did take tuition but it was not regular, and I focused a lot on practicing problems on my own.”

Adaa’s father, involved in real estate, and her mother, a housewife, provided the perfect environment for her to thrive.

Guneet Kaur, from Sawmi Sant Das Public school in Jalandhar achieved an outstanding 99.6% in the Class X and opted for commerce, scoring 100 marks in math, computer science, PAT, 99% in science, social studies, and Punjabi and 96% in English. Her hard work, combined with a dedication of 5-6 hours a day, made her a top scorer. Guneet’s mother, Jasveer Kaur, is a housewife, and her father is a businessman.

Trisha Arora, from Innocent Heart School, secured 99% in the Class XII Humanities stream, with top scores in history (100%), political science (99%), sociology (98%), English 98% and geography (94%).

“My school teachers were always supportive, but I mainly studied on my own through online resources. YouTube helped me a lot in clearing doubts and practicing various topics,” said Trisha.

Rishampreet Kaur from Police DAV Public School scored 99% in the Class XII. She achieved perfect marks in painting (100%) and 99% in English, Psychology and history.