Delhi’s NIOS Project was launched with a clear purpose: to provide academically struggling Class 9 and 10 students a second chance to complete their schooling without dropping out. In principle, the model was simple — move weak learners to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), support them through Class 10, and then reintegrate them into the mainstream system.
A decade later, the numbers reveal a starkly different reality.
New parliamentary and RTI-based data show that nearly 70 percent of students enrolled under the NIOS Project have failed the Class 10 examination over the last four years. Of those who do manage to pass, many never return to their parent schools. The result is a system where most students neither progress academically nor re-enter formal education — and no mechanism exists to track what happens to them afterward.
A widening gap between intent and outcomes
The project was meant to function as a bridge for students who repeatedly fail Class 9 or fall severely behind academically. Each year, thousands of such children are shifted to NIOS — 22.22 percent of all Class 9 failures, according to Parliament data.
But only one-third successfully clear Class 10 through NIOS. PTI’s investigation earlier this year found that the failure rate has averaged 70 percent over the past four academic cycles. This undermines the central premise of the initiative: retaining vulnerable children in the education system.
How the project is being used — and misused
Teachers and education advocates say that the NIOS route is often used less for academic recovery and more for “result management.” Schools under pressure to maintain strong CBSE Class 10 board results reportedly divert weaker students to NIOS as a workaround.
Once shifted, however, many students receive minimal support. Parallel classes are irregular, attendance is seldom tracked, and learning resources vary widely across centres. The “safety net” becomes a holding space with little teaching and almost no accountability.
Ashok Agarwal of the All India Parents Association has called the system “a gamble with the future of children,” noting that those who pass through the reduced curriculum often enter Class 11 only in the Arts stream, limiting future academic and career options.
The scale of the problem
The number of students moved into the NIOS Project each year underscores how entrenched the practice has become:
- 2020–21: 11,322
- 2021–22: 10,598
- 2022–23: 29,436
- 2023–24: 7,794
- 2024–25: 11,974
Despite these large batches, outcomes remain bleak: only 37 percent passed in 2024, and only 30 percent across the last four years.
Even among the minority who clear Class 10, reintegration into mainstream schooling is rare, creating significant leakage at both entry and exit points.
Why the project fails to bring students back
Several systemic gaps explain why few children return to regular schools:
- Lack of follow-up: Schools seldom track attendance, learning progress, or parental awareness. Many students drift out unnoticed.
- Classes on paper, not in practice: Parallel teaching for NIOS learners is inconsistent or absent. Most study independently, without guidance.
- Social and cultural detachment: Being labelled “NIOS” isolates students from peers, routines, and school identity, accelerating disengagement.
- Curriculum mismatch: Students who pass Class 10 through NIOS struggle with the rigour of CBSE Class 11, making reintegration difficult.
- Perverse incentives: Principals focused on board exam performance may shift weaker students to NIOS for statistical gain rather than educational benefit.
NIOS vs. Delhi’s NIOS Project
It is essential to distinguish between the national NIOS system and the Delhi-specific project. NIOS, run by the Ministry of Education, offers flexible learning for students who need alternative pathways. It includes optional classes, self-paced study, TMAs, and biannual exams — and caters to working youth, athletes, adults, and others unable to attend regular school.
Delhi’s NIOS Project, however, functions as an internal diversion mechanism within the government school system. Its effectiveness depends heavily on school-level support — support that, data suggests, is severely lacking.
A project losing its purpose
With most students failing, few returning, and almost no monitoring of long-term outcomes, the NIOS Project is increasingly at odds with its founding promise. The initiative meant to keep children in the education system is instead creating a silent dropout pipeline.
The core question remains: If the system neither educates nor rehabilitates these students, what exactly is it achieving — and why is no one accountable for its collapse?
