· The proportion of overall student enrollment in government schools of Delhi increased by 7% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

· Further, MCD Std. 1 enrollment shows an increase of 21% after COVID-19 from 2020-21 to 2021-22; governments should effectively track these students to ensure they transition to 6th std. in state schools and remain in Delhi’s public education system.

· Over the years from 2014-15 to 2020-21, 6,27,495 (83%) of 9th std. and 1,88,159 (84%) of 11th std. students who failed are being missed out of Delhi’s public education system.

· In 2019-20, only 26% of 60,635 students who failed 9th Std. enrolled for Patrachar/National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) 10th std. exam in 2020-21.

· In 2020-21, only 40% of 4,008 students who failed 11th Std. enrolled in Patrachar 12th Std. exam for 2021-22.

· 82% vacancy in principal posts in Delhi state government schools as of December 2021.

· As principals play a vital role in preparing the School Development Plan (SDP), out of the 157 state schools for which data was received, 50% did not prepare the SDP for 2021-22.

· Right to Education Act, 2009, states pupil teacher ratio (PTR) should be 30:1, however, the PTR in MCD schools was 43:1 in 2021-22.

· Per child State budget allocation declined by 14% from 2019-20 to 2022-23, while per child MCD budget allocation declined by 21% from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

Delhi, 23rd November 2022: Praja Foundation launched its report on the ‘State of Public (School) Education in Delhi, 2022' on Wednesday, 23rd November 2022. In this report Praja has analysed a ten years’ trend of public (school) education in Delhi. The data shows that enrollments in all government schools in Delhi has been increasing since 2018-19 and during COVID-19, these numbers increased by 18% from 2018-19 to 2021-22. However, it is still concerning that from 2014-15 to 2020-21, 38% (7,58,338) of 9th Std. students failed to move to 10th Std. and 19% (2,23,471) of 11th Std. students failed to move to 12th Std.
“The large number of students from 9th and 11th Std. who fail to move to the next standard could be due to a lack of adequate attention given towards improving the learning outcomes of the students from 8th Std. and below. State schemes such as Patrachar and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Project allow these correspondence students to complete their education by giving the 10th and 12th exams,” said Yogesh Mishra, Head – Dialogue Programme, Praja Foundation.  

“The latest data on these schemes show that in 2019-20, only 26% of 60,635 students who failed in 9th Std enrolled for Patrachar and NIOS schemes in 2020-21. However, out of the students who appeared for the Patrachar 10th exam, only 47% could pass the exam. Similarly, in 2020-21, only 40% of 4,008 students who
failed in 11th Std. enrolled in Patrachar for 2021-22; out of which 70% could pass the 12th Std. exam. Whereas the major concern is that from 2014-15 to 2021-22, 8,15,654 students who failed 9th and 11th Std. and did not enroll in Patrachar/NIOS, and 99,733 students who could not pass the 10th and 12th std. exams either directly or through Patrachar, there is no information whether they continued with their further studies. When the NEP states education for all with 100% enrollment and tracking, this reflects poorly on Delhi’s education system that these students are being missed out of the system. This will further also impact the career of these students due to the non-completion of their overall education,” added Mishra.

“To ensure students complete their education, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 emphasizes the need for trained teaching staff to provide quality education. Moreover, the Principal plays a vital role in the efficient planning and monitoring of a school. However, as of December 2021, there is an 82% vacancy in principal posts in state schools, while no information was received from Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools,” said Priyanka Sharma, Director Programs, Praja Foundation.

“The RTE mentions the School Development Plan (SDP), a tool for government schools to plan and ask for required resources from relevant governments to address issues existing in school infrastructure. However, in 2021-22, of the 157 state schools for which data was received, only 50% prepared an SDP, while no information was received from MCD schools,” Sharma added.  

“Elected representatives should hold the government accountable for the functioning of the education system by actively deliberating on the issues existing in the system. However, in 2021, only 6% of the total issues were raised on education by Delhi MLAs, out of total 783 issues raised. In addition, only 7 issues were raised by Delhi MLAs on the vacancy of principals and teachers, when there is a 20% vacancy in teaching staff,“ said Milind Mhaske, CEO, Praja Foundation.  

“To ensure the NEP goals are achieved, it is necessary for both governments to effectively maintain education data in all zones, districts, and headquarters. Students who have dropped out should be tracked and effective measures should be taken to ensure they complete their education. In addition, government agencies should ensure adequate infrastructure and facilities are available as prescribed in the policy. These gaps can be effectively addressed with efficient utilisation of budgetary allocations. Additionally, MCD and the State government need to collaborate and co-operate to ensure uniformity in schemes and provide good quality education from pre-primary to higher secondary for Delhi school students,” concluded Mhaske.

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