© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Delhi government’s schooling system has been in the spotlight for many years and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party often emphasises its successes, but one challenge persists — the high failure rate of students in Class 9.
The Indian Express recently reported how nearly two out of three students who failed Class 9 twice (meaning failed the remedial exam too) have not enrolled at the National Institute of Open School (NIOS) in Delhi. This means they risk entirely dropping out of the schooling system.
Why is Class 9 a difficult hurdle? We explain.
Recent data from the Delhi government’s education department shows that Class 9 consistently sees the highest failure rate among all grades in government schools. While exact figures may fluctuate yearly, up to 30-40% of students fail at this level on average. In the academic year 2023-24, around 36% of Class 9 students were held back after failing to clear the remedial or compartment exam.
The percentage of students passing Class 9 has recently dipped below pre-pandemic levels. For Class 9 students, the pass percentage for 2019, 2020 and 2021 stood at 84.72%, 87.13% and 88.49% respectively. In 2022, it was around 65.52%. Roughly 40% of those who failed in 2022 dropped out of school.
Why is the failure rate particularly high in Class 9?
Several factors are responsible. The government’s no-detention policy under the Right to Education Act applies until Class 8, meaning students are automatically promoted. Therefore, Class 9 marks the first time they can potentially fail a grade.
Latika Gupta, Assistant Professor at Delhi University’s Department Of Education, told The Indian Express that at the Class 9 level, the students are gearing up to take their board exams the next year and there is added academic pressure. Examination patterns also play a role as there are more Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) here onwards. “This leads to rote learning of the students which leads to a higher failure rate,” Gupta said.
Why and when are students being pushed into Open Schooling?
In Delhi, students who fail Class 9 twice can enrol in the NIOS or Patrachar schools, which run weekend classes and classes in distance learning mode. Several Delhi government school teachers say students who don’t fail Class 9 but have a weak academic performance are also encouraged by the school administration to join open schooling.
Gupta said, “The Aam Aadmi Party, when asserting itself in Delhi, flaunted the state’s education system. This puts pressure on the government and the schools to produce perfect percentages in their Class X and XII CBSE results every year. Many students who do not score well are then pushed towards open schooling”.
The NIOS began as a Delhi government initiative to help students perform better and not to drop out of the schooling system. But several students and parents have claimed that the quality of education is not up to the mark.
Of the 17,308 students who failed in Class 9 across 903 government schools this year, 6,200 (around 36%) are enrolling in the NIOS. Earlier in 2021, The Indian Express reported that of the students who could not pass Class 9 that year, 10% joined open schooling through the NIOS. Of them, 38% passed Class 9 the next year, while 12% failed again.
What efforts are being made to tackle this challenge?
Over the years, the Delhi government has initiated several measures, including remedial classes for students struggling in key subjects like Mathematics, teacher training, etc. Under the education department’s Mission Buniyaad, there are plans to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy skills among students in Classes 3 to 8.
Earlier, Manish Sisodia introduced a two-fold strategy where students who have dropped out were to be traced and given vocational training. Also, the work they may have engaged in while out of the school system could be identified and their skilling could be undertaken.
