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Class 10 students in Karnataka don't have to worry anymore! Karnataka School Examination and Evaluation Board (KSEEB) has reduced passing marks of SSLC from 35% to 33% with the objective of easing pressure on the students and achieving more pass percentages.

As per the new rule, the students now have to obtain at least 206 of 625 (internal and external exams) to pass. There is a catch, however â€" they also have to obtain at least 30% of all the written exams of the subjects, i.e., 24 of 80 marks.

This amendment, as part of the draft Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (Amendment) 2025 rules, was released on July 25, 2025, in the state gazette. The rule is expected to become gazetted after 15 days' objection period during which parents, teachers and the general public can provide their comments.

WHAT'S CHANGING IN SSLC PASSING RULES?

Decreased passing marks from 35% to 33%

Minimum 206 out of 625 marks to qualify

30% marks as a minimum in the written test in all subjects

Transition becomes active from the academic year 2025–26

The transformation is made according to the recommendation of KSEAB so that it can be at par with the level of CBSE. The government did not, however, implement the recommendation of cutting down the total marks in the first language subject from 125 to 100 and overall stands at 625.

School management associations welcomed the new regulation in a positive manner but sought clarifications on passing marks at the subject level.

The amendment would enable more backward and rural students to pass the SSLC exam with minimum quality standards, officials said.

While Marathi is being taught at community schools in the United States, Maharashtra IT and Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar has said the state government would provide official support towards this end.

MEETING WITH BAY AREA MANDAL

In a recent trip to San Francisco's Bay Area, Ashish Shelar met with members of the Maharashtra Mandal, an organization that runs some such schools.

These schools, run by volunteers from among Marathi speakers' diaspora communities, instruct children in non-India the Marathi language and courses in culture, history, and people's traditions.

The Bay Area school, begun in 2005, now has about 300 students enrolled.

In the US as a whole, there are over 50 Marathi schools operating on similar lines with community but not State support.

The members of Mandal presented a brief at the meeting that official recognition, common curriculum, examination pattern, and recognition would enhance the quality of instruction and ease administration.

Official certification would enable more parents and volunteers to join in, they further added.

GOVERNMENT ASSURES COOPERATION

To that, Mr Shelar said he would take the issue to table with School Education Minister Dada Bhuse and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

He assured the delegation that the Maharashtra government would provide full support.

This would include access to curriculum materials, letters of support from the government, and other papers which could allow such schools to operate and gain legitimacy.

The visit is a recognition of greater attention to the contribution that diaspora communities can make towards retention of regional languages and cultures.

Though such schools are not part of any kind of network of schooling, their contribution to retention of linguistic heritage outside the country is significant.

With this promise given by the minister, family schools and volunteers now look forward eagerly to action.

Such assistance, if undertaken, would give order to their activities and assist in providing long-term sustainability for Marathi language learning by the diaspora.

After a roof gave way in a government school in Rajasthan's Jhalawar, killing seven students on Friday, the Union Ministry of Education has sent a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to obtain a safety audit of all schools.

All public and private schools where children and young people go to school should be subjected to safety inspection to the national standards of disaster management and safety. The stability of structures, protection against fire, access and exit routes, and electric installations have to be inspected extremely carefully," the Ministry statement affirms.

The governments have also been instructed to give training in emergency readiness to students and employees, including evacuation drills, first aid, and safety measures.

"Any dangerous situation, near miss, or accident involving potential harm to adolescents shall be reported within 24 hours to the concerned State or UT authority. Firm responsibility shall be vested for delay, neglect, or inaction," the release added.

Education departments and school boards were asked to "act without delay" so that these measures are implemented.

A senior Ministry of Education official said that apart from Friday's incident in Rajasthan, the other recent incidents — such as a part of a classroom ceiling collapsing in Madhya Pradesh and the collapse of the school building roof in Jharkhand — led to the communication with States.

States and UTs were also asked to promote school-going children's emotional well-being by establishing counselling facilities, peer support systems, and community outreach. "Parents, guardians, community leaders, and local bodies should be motivated to keep vigil and report risky situations at schools, public venues, or transportation used by children and adolescents," said the Ministry's release.

Friday's tragedy in a government school at Jhalawar district's Piplodi village killed seven students and left eight others critically injured. The State government suspended five teachers and even ordered an inquiry.

Telangana Education Commission chairman opined that the consultation was necessary, following poor levels of understanding and learning crisis at the base

Remedial education in schools, to enhance ability to learn among children, should not become an add-on facility but integral and continuous element in the schooling system. This would not only help in learning but also in making it equitable and inclusive.

That was the view of scholars, professionals, voluntary organizations in children education and school authorities, at the consultative workshop on remedial teaching in schools organized by Telangana Education Commission (TEC) here on Tuesday.

TEC chairman Murali Akunuri noted that the consultation was necessary, following low levels of comprehension and learning crisis at the foundation level. "A number of students who don't possess basic competency are not only losing precious time but also their confidence and dignity. The structural problems, such as multi-grade classrooms and less concentration on early education in Anganwadis, have accelerated the crisis," he said.

As R.Venkat Reddy of MV Foundation, which works extensively with out-of-school children, said, such students who are able to learn if provided the right atmosphere. Begin where the learners are, acknowledge diversity in class and establish a democratic learning community, he recommended.

For Ram Babu of Pratham, Mumbai-based organisation, who interpreted the trends of Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) trends, adoption of interventions 'Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL)' in the State would strengthen the foundation skills further.

Professors at Indira Mahindra School of Education Shikha Takker and Mythili Sastry also underlined the requirement of a good conceptual base of Mathematics and the role of school leadership in remedial teaching.

Ms.Sastry also asked a question: "Is remedial education time-bound or as an ongoing support system throughout the year?" 

With common experiences, a teacher from Khammam gave instances of short-term intense interventions, one organisation said story books and reading sessions could be good tools whereas another proposed individual tutors throughout the year and infusing remedial education in welfare hostels and schools through volunteers.

Hyderabad's school community is coming out strongly against the recent decision made by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that high-definition CCTV cameras equipped with audio-visual recording be placed in classrooms. Although the move is made in the interest of enhanced safety among the students, teachers and educators are opposing it as it trespasses upon privacy and impacts the learning environment.

According to the modified CBSE bylaws, schools are going to be required to fit real-time CCTV monitoring not only in corridors, libraries, and canteens but also inside classrooms and laboratories. The directive has been criticized by teachers and budget school administrations alike who complain about the directive being intrusive and expensive.

"Security must be maintained, but monitoring in classrooms gets in the way of day-to-day communication of the teachers with the students," said a teacher of a private school. "It may also lead to constant self-censorship, which works as a barrier to effective teaching."

Correspondent at Jain International School Dr Chandrasekhar had similar sentiments. "While observation would restrain bad behavior, excessive monitoring may destroy creativity and autonomy of the classrooms. There has to be a balanced approach," he continued.

Whereas other low-cost private schools also labelled the outrageous cost of putting up and sustaining high-tech CCTV equipment in all classrooms as a call for making the measure a non-starter for resource-poor schools,

M Uma Devi, principal of Shamshabad's Oasis School of Excellence, responded that her school never practices classroom recording. "We have fixed cameras outside the school for safety of students, but teaching in classrooms needs to be surveillance-free," she said.

Certain teachers requested CBSE to restrict monitoring only to non-academic spaces like entrance, staircases, and playgrounds so that footage will not be misused and sanctity of classrooms will be preserved.

As the debate rages on in Hyderabad, schools are waiting for the CBSE to announce a policy shift to balance student safety with education freedom and privacy.

In a ruling that places students' well-being at the forefront of school life, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a new circular asking all its affiliated schools to introduce "Oil Boards" as a standing reminder to promote improved food habits. "Oil Boards" are pictorial reminders such as posters or digital boards in public spaces reminding one to avoid excessive intake of fatty oils and fats.

The release on July 15, 2025, comes as a natural follow-up to CBSE's last "Sugar Boards" campaign, emphasizing its belief in preventive health in the form of awareness and student behavioral change.

With an increasing issue of obesity in India, especially among adolescents and children, at the center of the campaign. According to data from NFHS-5 (2019–21), one out of every five urban Indian adults is overweight or obese. Even more ominous, a new study published in The Lancet puts the percentage of overweight and obese Indian adults by 2050 at twice the current level. Lifestyle diseases used to be a problem only among adults but are now increasingly becoming young people and adolescents because of high-fat and high-sugar foods and the lack of exercise.

Schools need to step forward

This, CBSE is inviting schools to make the children stakeholders of their own health process. Schools now face the challenge of:

• Placing "Oil Boards" in cafeterias, corridors, and common rooms to make the children talk about the impact of high-fat food.

• Designing health-conscious messages on school diaries, notebooks, and folders, reminding the children daily to re-think their activity and food routine.

• Expand on-campus access to improved dietary choices in the form of whole fruits and vegetables and low-fat items, while minimizing sales of packaged foods and sweets simultaneously.

• Encourage physical activity through "movement breaks," encouraging stairway use, and creating walkways throughout school properties.

Importantly, the campaign calls upon students to become creators, not consumers. Schools are invited to include Oil Board design as part of school activity so that students can do research, brainstorm and produce health communication materials, an exercise in life skills and imagination.

The circular also requests schools to tackle pertinent educational content available on the official YouTube channel of FSSAI. Schools may also contact FSSAI on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information or resources.

This program is an expression of growing acknowledgment that the classroom can no longer be isolated from the larger matters of student way of life and well-being. Through visual reminders, same-peer interaction, and school-level interaction, CBSE seeks to instill habits among students that go beyond the classroom and pervade the wellness structures.

For the stressed-out study generation, digital fatigue, and changing food habits, the decision by CBSE is an eye-opener that learning to make healthier decisions is as crucial as learning to solve a math problem.