The government-run schools have improved their Central Board of Secondary Education results for Class XII for the fifth consecutive year.

With a pass percentage of 88.87 per cent this year, the government-run schools have registered an increase of 1.73 per cent from last year’s 87.14 per cent. The record-breaking scores, officials said, have helped nudge Delhi to the number two position nation-wide.

“Last year, Delhi was at number three, this year we are number two,” Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said. “The result of public schools in Delhi is almost the same as the previous year, but we have bettered our results.”

And the figures back the minister’s claims. Five years ago, government run schools stood at 76.44 per cent. In the years that followed it rose to 78.07, 82.73, 85.70, 87.14.

The government schools are also diminishing the margin between themselves and the private schools.

“Over the past five years, there has been a decline in the gap between pass percentage of private schools and government schools. We have been trying to encourage teachers. We look at the performance of each school and immediately get the redressel done,” Lovely said.

The gap between government and private schools on 2003-04 was 11.78, last year it was down to minus 0.73.

“Most of the children from private schools come to our schools now, mostly because of the fee hike issue,” Director School Education P Krishnamurthy said.

Principal of a government school, however, said: “The government shows the overall picture. There are zones that perform well, but there are zones like Northeast, Southwest where the pass percentages are not that good. Attention needs to be paid to such schools.”