Bolster school education as most victims are children from marginalised sections

It was recently reported in the media that more than 65 lakh students failed in the Class 10 and 12 board examinations in 2023, with the state boards showing a higher failure rate as compared to the national boards such as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The reports referred to an analysis of the examination results from 59 school boards-comprising 56 state boards and three national boards, which also indicated that more girls took Class 12 examinations in government-run schools, while the trend was reversed in private and government-aided schools.

It said that approximately 33.5 lakh Class 10 students did not advance to the next grade, with 5.5 lakh candidates absent and 28 lakh failing the exams.

This significant number of non-advancing students contributes to the low retention rate and Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) at the higher secondary level. Similarly, approximately 32.4 lakh Class 12 students did not complete the grade. Out of these, 5.2 lakh did not appear for the examinations, while 27.2 lakh failed.

According to reports, the student failure rate in Class 10 for the national boards was six per cent, whereas, for the state boards, it was significantly higher at 16 per cent. In Class 12, the failure rate for the national boards stood at 12 per cent, while for the state boards, it was 18 per cent. The open school performance was poor in both Class 10 and Class 12. The highest number of student failures in Class 10 was in Madhya Pradesh board, followed by Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In Class 12, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest student failure, followed by Madhya Pradesh.

More girls than boys appeared for Class 10 and 12 board exams from government schools. This trend may indicate a gender bias in educational spending by parents, according to the source. Despite this, girls outperformed boys across all management categories. Around 87.5 per cent of girls in private schools passed the exam compared to 75.6 per cent of boys in Class 12. This resulted in over nine lakh boys failing the exam compared to four lakh girls. The exams covered a wide range of curricula, with some boards following non-NCERT syllabus. Despite the large number of students, the pass percentages reveal a concerning trend.

I am not in position to either vouch for the authenticity of the reports or reject them but I won’t hesitate in stating that the findings appear to be so close to the ground realities, as known to me. I did my schooling like many others from a government school where my father was the headmaster. It was 1986 when I appeared in the Class X state board examination. During these 38 years, the quality of school education has gone down instead of showing some incredible improvement in terms of overall quality. My school now has a better building but nothing much to cheer about in the name of the ecosystem. It was the other way round when I was in the school, then struggling to have even foolproof roofs over all classrooms.

I find the whole school education scenario in the government sector quite agonizing. I was working as a journalist in New Delhi when we were blessed with a daughter in 2000. I put my daughter in a private school as there was no decent government school in the NCR where I was staying. In order to admit her in the school, I had to sell off my wife’s ornaments as I did not have enough savings to meet the initial admission fees but I had no regrets as there was none to complain about. It was a matter of ‘no other choice.’ Then I put my son in the same school but withdrew him after a couple of years as the financial burden was more piercing.

However, I put them in a missionary school of sorts after leaving Delhi. It was by and large the same story in my new city. Today when I look back, I don’t think that things have changed a lot in government schools in these 38 years. Barring some exceptions in terms of infra facilities, the quality of teaching has worsened.

The majority of its victims are children from poor families, who solely depend on government schools, which are not-to-be-considered kind of places of learning for rich, powerful and educated parents. Even teachers don’t put their children in their own schools. There can be some exceptions across the country but the bottom line is the fact that those studying in the government schools are looked down upon by others.

It is not a happy situation at all. Given the dynamics of India’s socio-economic realities, I will strongly recommend that the government should consider declaring school education a not for profit pursuit so that the poor children are not deprived of education being provided in the private sector. Only charitable trusts should be allowed to run schools in the private sector where the fees should be strictly regulated. It should also be mandated that no financial transactions in a private sector school are done in cash. It should be digital, direct transfer into bank accounts or through cheques or drafts. However, I will recommend the closure of schools in the private sector, which are being run as a business entity.

My angst as a citizen of India lies in the repercussions of providing two types of school education to our children on the basis of their parents’ paying capacity. It is much easier for those studying in good private schools to crack entrance tests for admission into various courses as compared to their government school peers.

One nation, one school board, one education and no fee is the need of the hour. If we can afford it, we should make education up to Class XII mandatory for all. This means that every child has to complete school education as a matter of law. The Constitution should be amended accordingly, which will be a landmark move towards building an inclusive Viksit Bharat by 2047. Will we ever show the guts for such a revolutionary move as a nation? Perhaps never!