More than 1 lakh ninth-grade students in Delhi government schools failed their annual exams for the 2023-24 academic year. Similarly, over 46,000 8th graders and 50,000 eleventh graders did not pass their exams.
The Delhi Directorate of Education (DDE) revealed this information in response to an RTI application filed by a PTI Bhasha correspondent. Delhi has 1,050 government schools and 37 Dr. BR Ambedkar Schools of Specialised Excellence. According to the data, 101,331 ninth-grade students failed in 2023-24, compared to 88,409 in 2022-23, 28,531 in 2021-22, and 31,540 in 2020-21.
For 11th grade, 51,914 students failed in 2023-24, down from 54,755 in 2022-23, 7,246 in 2021-22, and only 2,169 in 2020-21. Additionally, 46,622 8th-grade students failed in 2023-24 following the cancellation of the ‘no-detention policy’ under the Right to Education Act.
An anonymous official from the Delhi Education Department explained that under the new ‘Promotion Policy,’ students in classes 5th-7th who fail the annual exam will not advance to the next grade. However, they will have another opportunity to improve their scores through a re-examination within two months.
To pass this re-exam, students must score at least 25 percent in each subject. Those who fail will be placed in the ‘repeat category,’ meaning they must remain in the same class until the next academic session.