New Delhi: A deep dive into the Ministry of Education’s internal Examination Results 2024 presentation reveals a startling mismatch in India’s efforts to support students who fail Class 10 and 12 board exams: the states with large failure rates and non-attendees lack open school systems like the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) or State Institutes of Open Schooling (SIOS).
According to the data, 26.6 lakh regular Class 10 students either did not appear for exams (4.43 lakh) or failed (22.17 lakh) and did not proceed to Class 11. However, the total number of students dropping out or failing has reduced by 47 per cent in the last decade (41.53 lakh in 2013 to 22.17 lakh).
Similarly, 24.76 lakh regular Class 12 students either didn’t appear (4.6 lakh) or failed (20.16 lakh), making them ineligible for higher education.
Yet, the alternative pathway meant to reintegrate these learners—open schooling—remains severely underutilised in most of the worst-affected states.
“The open school must reach out to each child who is failing… NIOS has been asked to reach out … something we are telling each state,” said Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy.
The report explicitly identifies this problem: “States with large failure rates have low penetration of SIOS or NIOS… The role of NIOS in these states became important to engage unsuccessful students in education.”
It highlights that seven boards contribute to 66 per cent of Class 10 failures, but except for Madhya Pradesh, these states lack any significant open schooling ecosystem.
In sharp contrast, NIOS has the highest enrollment in regions like Delhi, Rajasthan, and Haryana, which also report among the lowest failure rates. For example, Rajasthan’s Class 12 pass percentage is 97.8 per cent, followed by Manipur at 97.3 per cent and Tamil Nadu at 94.6 per cent. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh (66.8 per cent) and Jammu & Kashmir (67.3 per cent) remain at the bottom tier nationally.
Even where NIOS operates, its reach remains limited. In 2024, only 6.98 lakh students were enrolled across all open boards, just 3.4 lakh passed. NIOS accounted for only 31 per cent of enrolment (about 2 lakh students) at the secondary level and 36 per cent at the higher secondary level.