Over 11,000 more students registered for Class 12 Science boards, sharp rise in Group A enrolment

A total of 1,11,294 students have registered in the regular category for the Class 12 Science board examinations beginning February 26 this year, reflecting an increase of nearly 11,000 candidates compared to last year, officials said.

The sharpest rise has been recorded in Group A (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics), traditionally opted for by students aspiring to pursue engineering. As many as 45,405 students have enrolled in Group A this year, up from 36,455 last year — an increase of around 9,000 candidates.

Meanwhile, Group B (Physics, Chemistry and Biology), chosen by students aiming for medical and paramedical courses, has seen a modest rise of 1,515 candidates. The number of students in Group B stands at 65,853 this year as against 64,338 last year.

Only 36 students have registered in Group AB (all four subjects), the highest in the past three years, officials said.

The total number of regular candidates stood at 1,00,813 last year.

Officials said that after mass promotion was granted in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 board examinations recorded the lowest enrolment in recent years, with 95,715 regular candidates. Of these, 62,231 were in Group B and 33,446 in Group A.

Education experts attribute the current shift towards Group A to the steep rise in fees at private medical colleges. The cost of pursuing an MBBS degree under the management quota is estimated to range between ₹70 lakh and ₹80 lakh over five years, while fees under the general quota are also reported to be between ₹40 lakh and ₹ 50 lakh.

Subject-wise data show that 46,793 students have registered for Mathematics and 68,067 for Biology this year. Additionally, 279 candidates have registered in the isolated category.

The examinations are scheduled to commence on February 26.