Mahadevi Birla girls discuss their CBSE results on Tuesday. Picture by Amit Datta

Commerce was once again the show-stealer in the CBSE Class XII examinations, the results of which were declared on Tuesday. Students of accounts and business studies were ahead of their counterparts in science. In most CBSE schools of Calcutta and elsewhere, the highest scorers at the Class XII level were from the commerce stream.

This trend of commerce students performing better was noticed last year all over the country, and Calcutta was no exception, officials of the Central Board of Secondary Education said from Delhi after announcing the results.

According to them, the overall performance of students in the reputable CBSE schools of Calcutta ? private ones as well as the Kendriya Vidyalayas ?is better this year.

?This year?s results show a dramatic improvement in the performance of students in commerce and business studies,? said Rashi Narula, principal, Mahadevi Birla Girls? Higher Secondary School.

Anamika Mundra, a student of the Darga Road institution?s commerce stream, is one of the city toppers in the examination, with 97.8 per cent. ?I am very happy about topping our school. I want to study economics in Delhi?s St Stephen?s College,? said Anamika.

The other school toppers are Tulika Prasad (92.8 per cent) of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Nirmit Lohia of Lakshmipat Singhania School (94.2 per cent), Rahul Daga of Hariyana Vidya Mandir (95 per cent), Ishan Santhalia of Birla High School for Boys (93 per cent) and Sagar Chakraborty of the same school (93.8 per cent).

Ishan, the top-scorer in commerce in Birla High, said his ambition was to study B.Com in Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, or St Xavier?s College, Calcutta. ?After graduation, I want to pursue management,? he added.

Mukta Nain, principal, Birla High, attributed the improvement to a string of new measures taken by the CBSE last year.

?A new subject has been introduced in commerce ? entrepreneurship ? which is a scoring subject. This has contributed to the improvement,? she said.