Mohali, May 14 -- The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) on Wednesday announced the Class 12 results for the 2025-26 academic session, revealing an overall pass percentage of 91.46%, an improvement from the 91% recorded last year. Of the 2,65,417 candidates who appeared for the examination, 2,42,755 students passed, while 5,109 students failed and 17,495 received compartments. Girls dominated the merit list and outperformed boys with a pass percentage of 94.73% against 88.52%. Out of 278 students on the merit list, 217 are girls and 61 are boys. All six transgender candidates who sat for the exams passed, maintaining a 100% success rate for the category. The state merit list was topped by three students who achieved perfect scores of 500 out of 500 marks. Supneet Kaur of Gurukul Academy Public Senior Secondary School, Ubha in Mansa district, representing the science stream, secured the first rank. She was joined at the top by humanities students Suhani Chauhan of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, and Divanshi of Teja Singh Sutantar Memorial Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana. According to the criteria, the PSEB determines rankings based on marks obtained in core subjects, with preference given to younger students in case of a tie. Supneet, a non-medical student who also opted for Biology, said she aims to join the Indian Air Force. "I have a dream of flying an aircraft as a pilot in the Indian Air Force. My parents have always motivated me to participate in various activities, whereas teachers have played an instrumental role in my success," she said. Besides excelling in academics, she has also previously earned recognition, winning a bronze medal in fencing at the 2024-25 National School Games. Her father runs a private school in the village where her mother is an Anganwadi worker. Suhani Chauhan, who secured the second position, credited her achievement to regular revision and consistency throughout the academic session. "I remained regular in my studies and focused properly during classes. Revision played the biggest role in my preparation," Suhani said, who aims to become a judge. Her father works as an HR manager in a private company. Suhani plays baseball and was part of the team that secured second position in the state-level event. Divanshi, who secured the third rank in the state, shifted from the CBSE board to the Punjab board after returning from Canada. "My family moved to Canada during Class 9, and after completing Class 10 there, we returned to India. Due to certain complications, I could not continue in CBSE and shifted to PSEB," she said. She credited her parents, especially her mother, who works as an academician in a PSEB-affiliated school, for guiding and mentoring her throughout the year. "I followed a dedicated timetable from the beginning of the session and remained consistent with it," she said. Apart from academics, Divanshi is a softball player and won a gold medal at the state-level softball tournament held in Patiala last year. In stream-wise performance, commerce students recorded the highest pass percentage at 98.78%, followed closely by science at 98.47%, while vocational and humanities streams stood at 87.80% and 87.74%, respectively. Amritsar performs best, Ludhiana lags Regional data showed that rural areas marginally outpaced urban centres with a pass percentage of 91.63% compared to 91.24%. Private institutions registered the highest success rate at 92.68%, followed by government schools at 91.41% and aided schools at 88.44%. Amritsar emerged as the best-performing district with a 96% pass rate, followed by Pathankot at 95.66%, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar at 95.62%, and Gurdaspur at 95.36%. Ludhiana recorded the lowest district-wise pass percentage at 87.04%. The board confirmed that detailed results are now accessible online for all students and affiliated institutions. Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains congratulated the students on their performance. "Multiple perfect scores across streams are truly remarkable," Bains said, attributing the improved results to the state's focus on digital classrooms, teacher training and timely completion of the syllabus. {With inputs from Vishal Joshi in Bathinda and Akanksha Attri Arora in Ludhiana}...