New Delhi: While much of India’s education system celebrates gains in board exam results and inclusive participation, states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Meghalaya have shown little to no progress in a decade, according to the Ministry of Education’s internal data.
The ‘Examination Results 2024’ report paints a troubling picture. Despite national trends showing a 40 percent to 90 percent rise in students passing with first class in Class 10 and 12 board exams over 11 years, these three states remain outliers.
In Class 10 results, Meghalaya recorded a pass percentage of just 56 percent, MP at 59 percent, and Jammu & Kashmir at 68 percent, placing them at the bottom tier nationwide. In Class 12, MP again featured among the bottom three with a 66.8 percent pass rate, while Meghalaya’s numbers have remained “at similar levels in the last decade,” the report confirms.
The Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2023-24 further underscores this stagnation. Bihar received the lowest grade (Akanshi-1) in the ‘Infrastructure and Facilities’ domain. Meghalaya, meanwhile, stood at the very bottom in overall PGI scores, with just 418 out of 1000, far behind top performers like Chandigarh (703).
“States like MP and Meghalaya have not significantly improved their board outcomes since 2013,” the PGI analysis stated, highlighting a sharp contrast with states like Kerala, Odisha, and Rajasthan, which have surged ahead in both participation and results.
A significant concern is the lack of open schooling infrastructure in these states. While dropout-heavy regions need flexible re-entry points, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) remains concentrated in Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan.