With show-cause notices issued to Delhi government school teachers to explain poor performance in their subjects following the CBSE Class 12 results yet to be withdrawn, the office of Education Minister Ashish Sood has said that no formal action has been taken against teachers by the Directorate of Education (DoE).
Copies of notices seen by The Indian Express, issued by heads of schools part of the DoE, show that the senior teachers were asked to explain subject-wise results.
However, the office of the minister told The Indian Express, “The notices would have been issued by school principals in their individual capacity… It’s important that academic perfomance improves. The steps would have been taken in that direction only.”
The overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools dropped to 91.97% from the previous year’s 95.18%, making it the lowest since 2019. Yet, it outperformed the national average of 85.2%.
Teachers who have received the notices have maintained that the move will adversely affect their service record and annual appraisal.
One show-cause notice issued to a Political Science lecturer said that the result of students in the teacher’s subject had been “considerably below the expected standard”. It added that the overall performance reflected “a high failure percentage and poor achievement level”, which had “adversely affected the school result”.
Maintaining that the result required “immediate explanation”, the teacher was directed to explain the reasons for the poor performance and clarify “why appropriate action should not be initiated for the unsatisfactory result”. The notice also asked the teacher to submit details of proposed “corrective measures”.
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A memorandum issued to another lecturer described the examination outcome as “unsatisfactory and below the expected standard of the school”. It said that academic performance reflects the quality of “teaching, regular assessment, remedial measures, classroom management, and academic monitoring conducted by the subject teacher concerned”.
Last week, the Government School Teachers’ Association (GSTA) approached Sood, saying teachers have been unfairly held responsible for a dip in results that coincided with the CBSE’s introduction of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
In a letter dated May 29, the association said the OSM system was introduced “without adequate preparation and practical assessment”. It added that evaluators across subjects reported a range of technical issues during the assessment process, including “blurred scanned answer sheets, uploading of incorrect answer booklets, missing pages of answer sheets, and difficulties in reading scripts due to poor handwriting of students”. According to the letter, evaluators and officials adopted “excessive caution” to avoid mistakes, which “resulted in unusually strict marking in many cases”.
The body alleged that “the primary reason behind the decline in results was the technical and procedural shortcomings of the OSM system implemented for the first time”. It said despite this, teachers were “directly held responsible” and issued show-cause notices and memorandums.
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The association requested Sood to withdraw all show-cause notices and memorandums and treat them as null and void.
Speaking to The Indian Express, GSTA head Ajay Veer Yadav said no formal response or clarification had been issued by the department so far. He said show-cause notices and warning letters could later become part of a teacher’s service record and may be cited while recording the Annual Performance Appraisal Report.
“Their impact is not immediately visible. However, in future, the employee may face adverse consequences in matters relating to promotion, selection, or other service-related issues,” Yadav said.
Asked how many teachers had received such notices, Yadav said, “It is estimated that approximately 50 per cent of PGT teachers have certainly received it.”
Sophiya Mathew is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She joined the Delhi bureau in 2024, and has specialization in Integrated Multimedia Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.
Professional Background
Core Beats: Her reporting is primarily focused on the Environment and Education.
Specialization: She has gained recognition for her ground-level reporting on the Yamuna floodplains and the socio-economic challenges faced by those living on its banks. She also focuses on the disparities in Delhi's education system, ranging from elite private schools to government institutions and refugee education.
Recent Notable Articles (December 2025)
Her recent work has been heavily centered on Delhi's severe winter pollution crisis and the government's regulatory responses:
1. The Air Pollution Crisis
"A tale of two cities: Delhi govt schools choke in bad air, private classrooms set up air filters" (Dec 20, 2025): A high-impact feature contrasting the "Clean Air Bubbles" in elite schools with the reality of government school students who are exposed to an equivalent of 17 cigarettes a day due to outdoor exposure.
"Delhi sees season's worst air day, second worst December AQI in nearly a decade" (Dec 15, 2025): An analytical report on the meteorological patterns trapping pollutants in the NCR.
"Delhi bans non-BS VI vehicles from outside: Why curbing vehicular pollution is key" (Dec 17, 2025): Explaining the science behind targeting specific vehicle vintages to lower particulate matter.
2. Enforcement & Regulations
"No fuel at pumps in Delhi without valid PUC certificate from December 18" (Dec 17, 2025): Breaking the news on the environment ministry's strict "No PUC, No Fuel" policy.
3. Education Policy
"Law to regulate school fee in Delhi risks becoming procedural, say parents" (Dec 13, 2025): Investigating the loopholes in the new Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025.
"Monsoon Session: Private school fee regulation Bill cleared after four-hour debate" (Aug 9, 2025): Covering the legislative passage of the controversial fee hike regulation.
Signature Style
Sophiya is known for her observational depth. Her reporting often includes vivid details from school corridors, hospital waitlists, or the banks of the Yamuna to illustrate how policy failures affect the city's most vulnerable residents. She is a frequent expert guest on the 3 Things podcast, where she explains the complexities of Delhi’s environmental laws.
X (Twitter): @SophiyaMathew1 ... Read More
