35 lakh Class 10 students fail or drop out, unable to make it to Class 11, Ministry of Education analysis shows

Approximately 35 lakh students of Class 10 are not progressing to Class 11, according to an analysis exercise carried out by the Ministry of Education (MoE). Of these 35 lakh students, 27.5 lakh fail, and 7.5 lakh students don’t appear for the Class 10 examinations.

Approximately 35 lakh students of Class 10 are not progressing to Class 11, according to an analysis exercise carried out by the Ministry of Education (MoE). Of these 35 lakh students, 27.5 lakh fail, and 7.5 lakh students don’t appear for the Class 10 examinations.

While the failure rate of students in Central Boards, including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is as low as 5%, it’s as high as 16% in State Boards.

Sanjay Kumar, Secretary (School Education), MoE, said that the significant variance in syllabus taught in different Boards, especially related to Physics, Chemistry and Biology, creates barriers for national-level common tests, including Common University Entrance Test (CUET), Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), and the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET). 

Responding to a query from The Hindu on Tuesday, Mr. Kumar said that the MoE has now requested data from the National Testing Agency on students that qualify for the NEET, and the Ministry wants to analyse students of which Boards perform well in NEET, or secure better ranks. 

Of the 35 lakh students who fail or are unable to appear in the Class 10 exams, only 4.5 lakh students appear in exams through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), and there too the failure rates range between 47% to 55%. 

“There are a large number of students who are slipping through cracks after Class 10 and very few of these are going for open schooling. This missing cohort can be caught for skilling them or increasing open schooling enrolments,” the MoE official said. 

Analysis of State-wise data on students passing and failing in Class 10 and 12 exams by the MoE reveals that results of students studying across up to 60 State Boards in India vary considerably from one State to another. “There is no level playing field for students in terms of standard and movement across the Boards,” Mr. Kumar said.