In the Rajya Sabha, MP Swati Maliwal drew attention to Delhi’s education system, spotlighting the worrying rise in Class 9 failures across government schools. She cited data from the Ministry of Education and questioned whether sending struggling students to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) was inadvertently boosting dropout rates and skewing the city’s academic performance figures.
Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary replied in writing, confirming that over 320,000 students had failed in Class 9 in Delhi government schools during the last five years. The breakdown shows 31,541 failures in 2020–21, 28,548 in 2021–22, a sharp spike to 88,421 in 2022–23, and a peak of 101,344 in 2023–24 before diping slightly to 70,296 in 2024–25—totaling 320,150.
At the same time, more than 71,000 students entered NIOS during that timeframe. Admissions were recorded as 11,322 in 2020–21, 10,598 in 2021–22, 29,436 in 2022–23, 7,794 in 2023–24, and 11,974 in 2024–25.
Maliwal argued that while NIOS is meant to give students a second chance, the policy might be pushing many away from mainstream schooling and raises accountability questions. Chaudhary countered that education remains a concurrent subject, with states and Union Territories running most schools. He defended NIOS, noting its aim to prevent repeat failures from turning into permanent dropouts, and highlighted that students who pass Class 10 through NIOS often return to regular schools.
Maliwal’s probing questions—whether the policy serves to artificially smooth school results and what corrective measures are underway—point to a broader debate about systemic reform. The numbers reveal a serious crisis that extends beyond statistics, affecting thousands of young learners at a pivotal point in their education. Balancing remedial pathways with accountability will be crucial for policymakers to ensure Delhi’s students do not lose the promise of a full educational journey.
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