The Ministry of Education will begin systematically tracking students who fail Class 10 and Class 12 examinations from 2026 and link them with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to facilitate their re-admission into the education system.
The move is aimed at mainstreaming out-of-school children and reducing dropouts, officials said.
Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Sanjay Kumar, said the tracking mechanism will help proactively reach students who fail board examinations and provide them an alternative pathway to continue their education.
He said the tracking will be carried out through the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the national database for school education, and the data will be shared with NIOS for follow-up and enrolment support.
Officials said the Centre is also examining whether funds provided to states under the Samagra Shiksha scheme can be used to cover NIOS fees, in order to ease financial barriers for out-of-school children seeking re-admission.
According to government data, the cumulative number of students who failed Class 10 and Class 12 examinations across all boards in 2024 stood at around 50 lakh.
The ministry is also focusing on addressing student dropouts, even as dropout rates have shown a steady decline over the past decade. Preparatory-level dropouts fell from 5.1 per cent to 2.3 per cent, middle-school dropouts from 3.8 per cent to 3.5 per cent, and secondary-level dropouts from 13.5 per cent to 8.2 per cent between 2014–15 and 2023–24.
Sanjay Kumar said the core objective of the National Education Policy is to ensure 100 per cent retention of students till Class 12, so that every child who enters the schooling system completes secondary education.
He said strengthening the open schooling system is critical, particularly for students who need flexibility due to work or other responsibilities, while still aspiring to continue their education.
The proposed measures are expected to play a key role in reducing dropouts and expanding access to secondary education across the country.
-ANI
