Education minister P.K. Shahi on Monday released the Class XII results of the Bihar Board of Open Schooling and Examination.

The open school board allows students who fail to complete their education to do so and provides them a certificate on a par with the other school boards. An autonomous organisation of the education department, the board is affiliated to the state government. This was the first year it conducted the examination.

The board was set up on June 13, 2011. It conducted the Class XII examinations from April 16 to May 14, 2013. The pass percentage stood at 47.23 per cent. Around 3,307 students appeared for the examination, while 1,562 were declared passed in all five subjects.

Of the high-scoring students was Vishal Gaurav from Saran district. Gaurav scored 399 marks out of 500.

Minister Shahi said: “Bihar Board of Open Schooling and Examination caters to those students who are out of school but come under various schemes of the government such as Hunar Yojana and Auzaar Yojana.” The open school also enables dropouts to complete their studies at a pace convenient to them.

Many children in the state, mostly from economically backward sections, are imparted vocational training under various schemes run by the state and central governments. But these students lack proper educational certificates.

Principal secretary, education, Amarjeet Sinha said: “The appointment of teachers who have cleared the Secondary Teachers’ Eligibility Test will be complete by July-end.”