BJP attacks Delhi govt over ‘deteriorating’ education standards in govt schools

BJP said students who failed Class 9 and Class 11 exams were nudged towards open schooling by the government so it could paint a better picture in board exam results

New Delhi

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that over 17,000 students of Class 9 failed exams. (HT Archive)

The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-run Delhi government over “deteriorating quality of education” in government schools, saying that over 17,000 students of Class 9 failed exams for a second time in a row.

Further, the BJP said the government asked the students who failed to shift to open schools, under the National Institute of Open Schooling, to paint a rosy picture of Class 10 results.

The AAP strongly refuted the allegations, saying Delhi’s government schools were topping the ranks nationwide. “Since the AAP came to power in the MCD, we are continuously working to improve the dilapidated MCD schools, which were ruled by the BJP for 15 years and were in extremely poor condition, in terms of infrastructure and learning outcomes,” the AAP said in a statement.

“The BJP should look at the conditions of schools where they’re in power. Can BJP name any school from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, or Rajasthan which is better than any Delhi government school? Let alone this, the government schools of Haryana and UP lack teachers and textbooks,” the AAP said.

A release by the directorate of education (DoE) issued on July 16 said: “As per data received from the computer cell, total 17308 students have been declared unsuccessful in class 9th for the second time during the session 2023-24...It is observed that only 6200 students are under process for enrolment through NIOS portal till date. As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce the dropout rate among students, it has been observed that the students who have failed twice are at risk of discontinuing their education. These students need immediate attention and support.”

The release asked school heads to counsel such students and their parents to ensure that they register with the NIOS. “The initiative aims to allow them to continue their education at their own pace and in subjects of their own choice so that they can be mainstreamed once they pass Class 10,” it said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the failure of 17,308 Class 9 students of government schools has “exposed the claims” of world-class education by the AAP government. “We have been consistently saying that the education level in government schools is deteriorating and that the government deliberately fails a large number of weak students, especially in classes 9 and 11, so that fewer students take the Class 10 exam and the government can show better results for classes 10 and 12,” he said.

Sachdeva said: “It is shameful that instead of encouraging students to study regularly, the Delhi government is forcing students to go to open school. Of these 17,000 children, only 6,200 children have registered on NIOS portal. So, 11,000 children are missing from the system.”

He said that teachers being diverted from academic works to administrative jobs was also impacting the quality of education. “Government should answer how students who are not able to study in regular school will manage to study in open school without tuition. We all know they are from poor families who cannot afford private tutors,” he said.