Chennai: The Tamil Nadu School Education Department will conduct public examinations this year for students who failed the Plus-1 public examination in previous academic years, officials said on Monday.

From the 2017-18 academic year, Plus-1 public exams were introduced to address concerns that schools were prioritising Plus-2 preparations over Plus-1 classes, affecting students' performance in higher education entrance tests.

In 2024-25, a total of 8,07,098 students appeared for the Plus-1 public exam, of whom 7.43 lakh (92.09%) passed. The supplementary exam for the remaining 63,866 students was held from July 7 to 11, and the results were declared on July 31.

Under the newly released State Education Policy, public examinations will now be held only for Classes 10 and Plus-2, with effect from the 2025-26 academic year.

However, officials clarified that the exemption will apply only to those currently in Plus-1. “For students who wrote the Plus-1 exam in previous academic years and did not pass, public examinations will continue to be conducted until they clear,” an official said, adding that a detailed government order will follow.