The pass percentage of class 10 state boards examinations in Jharkhand declined this year with 90.39 percent of students declared successful on Friday, officials said.

Last year, 95.78 percent of students had cleared the examinations, they said.

Announcing the results, School Education and Literacy Department Secretary Uma Shankar Singh said, "There are several issues behind the decline in pass percentage. This time, the examination was not taken on OMR sheets and the number of objective-type questions was less."

"The important thing is that the number of students passing in the first division has increased this year," Singh said.

The pass percentage among girls was 91, while that among boys was 89.70, he said.

Indira Gandhi Balika High School in Hazaribag grabbed the top three spots with Jyotsna Jyoti emerging as the topper obtaining 496 marks. She was followed by Sana Sanjuri who scored 493 marks, and Karishma Kumari and Sristi Somya who grabbed the third position with 492 marks each.

A total of 2,05,110 students passed in the first division, 1,53,733 in the second division, and 19,555 in the third division, according to the Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC).

A total of 4,18,623 students appeared in the exams, while 3,78,398 students passed.

Singh said East Singhbhum, Hazaribag, and Giridih were the top three districts in terms of pass percentage, while Deoghar was at the bottom.

"The department will soon launch a scheme for districts that did not perform well. A detailed study of schools will be done and steps will be taken to improve the results," he said.

After the elections, the government will organize a program to honor the state toppers of JAC, CBSE, and ICSE, he added.