Are centums the mark of academic excellence?

This year, higher secondary students of the State have scored maximum number of centums not only in maths, physics, chemistry and biology, but also in subjects such as economics and statistics. Examiners rarely give centums in economics and statistics, say teachers and students.In Chennai district, for instance, 17 students have scored centum in statistics . In 2010, no one achieved this. Only 3 centums were awarded in 2010 for economics, while 63 students scored full marks in this year's examination, whose results were declared on Monday. A student of Uthamapalayam has scored centum in History, while in languages such as French, Sanskrit, Hindi and Tamil, many have lost the centum only by two marks. Botany is, probably, the only subject where no student has got a centum. Last year, seven students got centum.Has the evaluation pattern changed? Or, is it the competition that has driven many students to achieve what was once difficult?