4 min readNew DelhiJun 14, 2026 11:25 AM IST
First published on: Jun 14, 2026 at 11:25 AM IST
Identify students who have failed Class IX twice or thrice and counsel them and their parents to ensure that they continue schooling: this is what the Directorate of Education (DoE) has directed the heads of the government schools in the Capital as the number of students dropping out of schools after Class IX continues to be a major concern.
The latest direction was issued through a circular, dated June 4, by the NIOS Project of the Education Directorate. The circular was issued after the declaration of Class IX compartment examination results. “There is an urgent need to identify, counsel and guide the students who have failed twice or thrice in Class IX,” it said. An “absence of proper guidance and motivation” has been flagged by DOE officials to be causing a “risk of discontinuing” their education. The department’s direction also points to special attention for parents as it states they require “motivation, counselling and assurance that the school will continue to support the child”.
The department has described the exercise as a dropout-prevention measure and underlined that the initiative by heads of schools can help “save many innocent students” and that the “ultimate goal” is to ensure that all children complete at least their school education.
Over the last five academic years, 3,20,150 students failed Class IX across the government schools in the city while 71,124 were admitted to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), according to the records of the Education Department. This means only about 22% of Class IX students who failed moved to NIOS — an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education that provides academic, vocational, life enrichment and community-oriented courses at the secondary and senior secondary levels.
The first instruction to schools is to retain the students in regular schooling. School heads have been asked to counsel students and parents on the importance of completing schooling and to “motivate and encourage them to continue their education in their regular school itself”. Regular school is seen as the first option and students should first be encouraged to continue in the regular school system, the directions noted.
NIOS has been positioned as the alternative route where the student or parent is unwilling to continue in regular school and seeks a ‘school leaving certificate’. In such cases, schools have been asked to counsel them to take admission directly in Class X through the NIOS Project of the Directorate of Education.
According to DOE officials, “This would allow students to continue their education through NIOS Board, which is a government body, at their own pace and in subjects of their choice and can help in saving a precious year of a student’s academic life”. Schools have also been asked to tell parents that under the NIOS scheme, “tough subjects like Maths are Not Compulsory” and students can opt for “lighter subjects of their choice.”
All heads of government schools have been asked to procure a list of students who have failed Class IX more than once. They have also been directed to personally call such students to school as per the convenience of their parents.A key assurance to parents is that students passing Class X through the NIOS Project will be eligible to return to their parent school for Class XI. The order says parents should be convinced that “after passing class Tenth through NIOS Project, the students are eligible to be enrolled in their Parent School for Class XI”.
Schools have been asked to counsel them to take admission directly in Class X through the NIOS Project of the Directorate of Education. (Express Photo) 
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