Over 29 Lakh Students Fail Class 10 Board Exams in 2023: Education Minister

The Lok Sabha was notified by the ministry of education that 15.5% of the 1.8 crore Class 10 students who took the board exam the previous year had been declared failed. With 49.9% of students quitting their studies, Odisha had the highest dropout rate in the previous year.

The Ministry of Education's Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) compiles board-by-board examination results for Class 10. According to the Class 10 board exam results 2022-23, "1,89,90,809 students appeared for class tenth examination, of which 1,60,34,671 students were declared passed and 29,56,138 students failed to progress to Class 11," said Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in response.

In 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of exams by most boards, resulting in students being promoted using alternative assessment criteria.

A staggering 3,98,039 students from the Board of Secondary Education Madhya Pradesh did not pass their exams last year. Additionally, the ministry released data on the failure and dropout rates over the past four years.

In response to Lok Sabha member Kalanidhi Veeraswamy's inquiry about the reasons for the lack of student educational progress despite the government's efforts under the New Education Policy (NEP), the minister stated “factors such as not attending the schools, difficulty in following the instruction in schools, lack of interest in the studies, level of difficulty of question paper, lack of quality teachers, lack of support from parents, teachers and schools” are reasons.

In the fiscal year 2022-23, a sum of Rs 44,49,394.26 lakh was designated for school education. The minister highlighted the implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, in line with NEP 2020, to guarantee equitable and inclusive access to quality education for all children.

Financial aid is also given to the states and Union Territories to enhance enrollment in public schools, bolster school facilities, and operate Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) up to Class 12, as well as establish residential schools and other initiatives. States and UTs now have the option to choose from 88 job roles in 22 sectors based on the skill gap analysis of the respective state and UT.