Patna: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) experiment of introducing 50 marks worth of objective questions in matriculation exams to help students secures more marks has failed to yield results.

Around 13.91 per cent students had secured first division marks last year; the figure dropped to 10.76 per cent this year. The pass percentage this year is 68.89 per cent, nearly 18 per cent higher than last year. Over 17 lakh students wrote the exam in February, up from 16.5 lakh students last year.

Marks secured too took a beating vis-à-vis last year. Prerna Raj of Simultala Awasiya Vidyalaya secured 457 out of 500 marks, while the highest score last year was 465, by Prem Kumar. In fact, the top score this year is below than that in the past three years.

In 2015, Kunal Jigyashu and Niraj Ranjan had topped the matriculation exam, securing 487 marks each. In 2016, Trisha Tanvi and Babita had secured 483 marks each.

"This year, BSEB introduced objective questions so that students secure more marks. But it has not helped," a Bankipore Girls High School teacher said on condition of anonymity. The teacher claimed students were confused with the new pattern.

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said: "We will analyse why the percentage of students who secured first division has dipped. But it could be because of the type of questions asked in the test."

With the declaration of BSEB Class X results on Tuesday, the race for board exam results in the state is finally over.