Data exposed AAP education model: Sood

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Saturday said data presented in the Rajya Sabha has exposed what he described as the reality behind the previous AAP Government’s education model. Reacting to a reply in the Rajya Sabha, Sood said the much-publicised “education revolution” was aimed at polishing statistics rather than supporting students.

He said that the issue was raised by AAP’s own Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who sought clarification on whether students failing in class nine were being shifted to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to improve school results.

Hitting back, AAP said in a statement that the claims were factually incorrect. AAP said that only about 22 per cent of the students who failed in class nine opted for the NIOS during the five-year period and did so voluntarily to avoid repeating a class. It added that the allegations were being made without proper application of the mind.

Citing the Education Ministry’s written reply to Maliwal’s question in the Upper House, Sood said that when an MP from the same party questions whether children are being moved out of the mainstream system, it raises concerns about the policy’s intent.

According to the data tabled in the Rajya Sabha, more than 3.2 lakh students failed Class 9 in Delhi Government schools over the last five years. The figures show that 31,541 students failed in 2020-21, 28,548 in 2021-22, 88,421 in 2022-23, 1,01,344 in 2023-24 and 70,296 in 2024-25. During the same period, over 71,000 students were enrolled in the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), including nearly 29,500 in 2022-23 alone.

Sood said while NIOS was meant to support continued learning, the figures suggested it was “used as a side-lane to divert students out of the system rather than help them catch up academically.

According to the written reply of the Ministry of Education in the Rajya Sabha, more than 3.20 lakh students failed in class nine in Delhi Government schools over the past five years.

Sood said that while NIOS can be an alternative learning system, the data suggested it was not used primarily as a support mechanism.