6.5 mn students failed class 10, 12 in 2023, even more in state boards: MoE

More than 65 lakh students did not clear class 10 and 12 boards last year with the failure rate being higher in state boards than national boards, according to Ministry of Education (MoE) sources.

An analysis of class 10 and 12 exam results of 59 school boards, including 56 state boards and three national boards, revealed that more girls appeared in class 12 exams from government-managed schools but it is opposite in private schools and government-aided schools.

However, across school management girls are outperforming boys by a big margin. The pass percentage is also in favour of the girls by more than six percentage points.

"Around 33.5 lakh students of class 10 did not reach next grade. While 5.5 lakh candidates did not appear, 28 lakh failed. This is one of the cause for low retention rate and Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) at higher secondary level," a source said.

Similarly, around 32.4 lakh class 12 students did not complete the grade. While 5.2 lakh did not appear, 27.2 lakh