14 lakh open schooling students’ pass rates far behind that of regular boards’; NIOS worst, MPSOS, RSOS better

Despite being projected as a flexible alternative under the National Education Policy (NEP), the open schooling system has brought to the fore a new form of inequality. Data released recently revealed that 14 lakh students faced significantly lower success rates last year than those from regular school boards – and the national body, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), was the worst performer, with particularly concerning outcomes for historically-marginalised Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.

The education ministry’s exam results report for last year, released in 2025, highlighted wide disparities in learning outcomes. It included board-wise, state-wise, and category-wise data across Class 10 and Class 12.

While open schooling is meant to be a flexible and inclusive alternative for dropouts and disadvantaged learners, these outcomes raise concerns about effectiveness and delivery — particularly at the national level.

Open schooling vs regular school boards

Last year, students in regular school boards outperformed their counterparts in open boards in terms of pass percentage.

School boards, class and pass percentage

Source: (Ministry of education)

The gap is particularly pronounced at the higher secondary level (Class 12), where pass rates for regular board students were 23 percentage points higher than those from the open schooling system.

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SC students: NIOS worst performer

Among SC students enrolled in open schools at the secondary level (Class 10), outcomes varied sharply by state. Some state boards, like Rajasthan (RSOS) and Haryana , showed relatively strong results. The NIOS, however, had the lowest pass percentage among the major boards.

State open boards, pass percentage for SC students

(Source: Ministry of Education)

NIOS served the most SC students after Rajasthan, yet recorded the lowest performance at just 35.41% – nearly 28 percentage points below the particular state.

ST Students: State boards’ outcome better in Class 12

Similar trends were observed among ST students at the Class 12 level. State boards in Madhya Pradesh (MPSOS with the Ruk Jana Nahin Yojana) and Rajasthan outperformed NIOS by more than 20 percentage points.

State open boards, pass percentage for ST students

(Source: Ministry of Education)

States administering their own open school systems achieved far better results than the central NIOS.

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Open Schooling: Girls do better, but enroll less

Across both secondary (Class 10) and higher secondary (Class 12) levels, girls consistently outperformed boys in open boards — a trend observed even within SC and ST categories. However, their representation remains lower.

Gender Gap: Girls vs boys in Class 10, 12

(Source: Ministry of Education)

Girls make up fewer than 45% of enrolled students in many states, pointing to gender disparities in access to open schooling, particularly among SC and ST populations.

NEP 2020 yet to deliver?

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions an expanded and equitable role for open schooling in India’s education ecosystem. It calls for integrating open learning with mainstream systems, using technology for outreach, and promoting flexibility for diverse learners.

However, the data suggests that much of this vision remains unrealised. Key concerns include:

• NIOS serving the largest student population while recording the lowest pass rates
• Persistent achievement gaps for SC and ST students
• Limited female participation despite better academic outcomes
• Lack of integration between open and mainstream education systems

For example, among SC students in Class 10, only 35.41% passed under NIOS — the lowest among all boards. Among ST students in Class 12, the NIOS pass rate stood at just 39.88%, compared to over 64% in state boards like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

This pattern holds even when comparing overall performance: NIOS pass rates hover around 30%-37%, while that of several state open boards cross 60%.