The media went by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia’s statement about government schools in Delhi performing 9 percent better than private schools. However, his claim was factually incorrect.
CBSE recently released the results of Class XII for the year 2017. Soon after these results were announced, Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, took to Twitter to announce that Delhi Government schools did better than private schools for the second year in a row. He said that the pass percentage of Delhi government schools is 88.27 percent, and that of private schools is 79.27 percent.
He went on to tweet that Delhi government schools had 2 percent better results than private schools in 2016 and in 2017, the lead increased to 9 percent.
In fact, in a rare case of a BJP minister appreciating the Aam Aadmi Party, Union minister for Urban Development, Venkaiah Naidu, tweeted a Times of India story on these results. Delhi government schools taking a 9 percent lead over private schools is impressive, he said.
Almost all media houses, like the Times of India, The Hindu, India Today, First Post and Hindustan Times shared these statistics. The Times of India has also done an infographic on the Delhi results.
All the media houses went by what Manish Sisodia tweeted and did not care to check the CBSE’s annual detailed statistical statement.
So Did Delhi Government Schools Take a 9% Lead over the Private Schools?
Manish Sisodia, in a hurry to prove that Delhi government schools did better than private schools, made the mistake of comparing the pass percentage of government schools in Delhi and private schools across India.
Let us examine the two statements made by Manish Sisodia.
Statement 1: Delhi Government Schools vs Private Schools
While it is true that Delhi government schools did better than Delhi private schools, it is not the first time. It is, in fact, for the third year in row and not second as Manish Sisodia tweeted. Delhi Government schools have fared better than their private counter parts since 2015. Sisodia’s claim that the pass percentage in Delhi government schools is 88.27 percent is also factually incorrect.
As per the CBSE’s official statistical statement, the pass percentage in Delhi government schools is 88.36 percent. The pass percentage of Delhi private schools is 84.2 percent. Sisodia tweeted that it was 79.27 percent, but that is the pass percentage of private schools at an all-India level and not Delhi.
Statement 2: Government Schools Did 9% Better in 2017
Sisodia’s second tweet is about the 9 percent better results in government schools this year compared to the 2 percent in 2016. While he is right about the 2 percent lead in 2016 (Government: 88.98 percent vs Private: 86.67 percent), he is wrong about the 9 percent lead in 2017. He calculated the 9 percent lead taking the All India private schools pass percentage in 2017 – which is 79.27 percent instead of Delhi private schools.
The CBSE data shows that the Delhi private schools pass percentage in 2017 is 84.2 percent and not 79.27 percent as was claimed by Sisodia and other media houses.
If this taken into consideration, then the lead is only 4 percent and not 9 percent. One cannot compare Delhi figures in 2016 and All-India figures in 2017. If the lead was 2 percent in 2016, then the lead is 4 percent in 2017. Else, if the All-India private schools pass percentage is compared in both years, then the lead in 2016 was 6.5 percent and in 2017 is 9 percent.
Have Delhi Govt Schools Done Better Under AAP?
In Delhi, the government schools have maintained a consistent pass percentage of around 88 percent in each of the years starting 2013. In the same time period, the private schools have slipped from 91.83 percent in 2013 to 84.2 percent in 2017. Even at an all-India level, the private schools have slipped from 82.31 percent in 2013 to 79.27 percent in 2017. Government schools, on the other hand, slipped from 84.89 percent in 2013 to 82.29 percent in 2017.
While the performance of Delhi government schools hasn’t improved in terms of absolute pass percentage during the AAP rule, they have maintained the 88 percent, when all others slipped.
(This article was first published on Factly.com. The author has been working on issues related to Right to Information (RTI) for a decade. He is a data/information enthusiast and is passionate about governance/policy issues. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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