Expulsion has been less in the school leaving examination this year.

Jamshedpur, March 27: Urgency on part of the secondary schools to perform better, coupled with an apparent leniency shown against matric examinees during invigilation, has apparently helped the volume of expulsion make a nosedive this year.

Figures available with the Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) revealed that out of over 2 lakh students, who sat for the examination this year, only 58 were expelled.

The matriculation examination was held between March 10 and March 19.

Sources based at JAC said last year over 200 students got expelled after they were found indulged in some unfair means in the examination. Sources pointed out the lenient approach on part of the teachers and district administration came as a boon to the students.

East Singhbhum district superintendent of education Jayanta Mishra said there has been strict guideline from the state secondary education department to improve results in the government schools. ?Last year 73 percent of the students passed successfully in the school leaving examination. Now we want to increase it to 90 percent,? added Mishra.

However, area education officer of East Singhbhum S.P. Singh said strict invigilation adopted during the examination has prevented the students to indulge in unfair means.

?Strict norms were also adopted against the students, who appeared from the private institutions,? said Singh to The Telegraph.

The council has released model question papers before the examination of each paper. ?It was found that about fifty percent questions of the model question papers tallied with the questions asked during the final,? added Singh.The council has also published question-cum-answer sheet this year.

?Some of the districts, including East Singhbhum, have registered zero expulsion,? said council chairman Shaligram Prasad Yadav to The Telegraph.