The Baccalaureate exam pass rate among high school students this year stands at 87.41%, by about 4 percentage points higher than last year. Some 67.92% of the students admitted to the main session passed the exams, according to the results prior to the examination of challenges, IPN reports.

The preliminary results published by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research show 2,371 candidates got an average grade of 8 and higher, as opposed to 1,843 in 2018. As many as 535 candidates have an average grade of 9 or higher, as against 359 in 2018. The average grade of 10 in the Baccalaureate exams so far was obtained by 11 candidates.

Two candidates have been banned from taking the exam after being caught cheating, in contrast to one candidate last year.

Those who are not satisfied with their grades can file challenges to Baccalaurean Centers on June 26 and 27 between 9am and 6pm.The final results of the main session will be announced on July 4, following the examination of challenges. The additional Baccalaureate session will be held during July 15-22.

The 2019 Baccalaureate session involved 10,583 candidates from high schools, 3,692 from colleges and centers of excellence, 193 from universities, 229 students who took the exams externally and 2,467 students who failed the exams the previous sessions, 17,164 candidates in all.