'Teachers overburdened, students didn't attend classes': 18 govt schools in Haryana record zero passes in class 12th boards

GURGAON: After the class 12 board exam results were declared earlier this week, 18 govt schools in Haryana have come under scrutiny. No student passed from any of these schools.Of these, six are in Nuh, four in Faridabad, and one each in Gurgaon, Hisar, Jhajjar, Karnal, Palwal, Rohtak, Sonipat and Yamunanagar.The zero-pass record isn’t the only concern. These schools are among 100 govt institutions that performed poorly in the boards, overshadowing the overall pass percentage of 85.7. In 82 schools across Haryana’s 22 districts, the pass percentage was below 35, prompting officials to refer them to the education directorate and the ministry of education for corrective measures.Nuh has the highest concentration of underperforming schools, accounting for 62 of the 100 lowest-performing institutions. Faridabad followed with 12 schools in the bottom 100.There were 59 students who appeared for the Class 12 boards from these 18 schools. Of them, Hindu Girls Senior Secondary School in Yamunanagar had the highest number of candidates at 23. 63 of 100 worst performing schools in Haryana boards from NuhNuh has the highest concentration of underperforming schools, accounting for 62 of the 100 lowest-performing institutions. Faridabad followed with 12 schools in the bottom 100. There were 59 students who appeared for the Class 12 boards from these 18 schools. Of them, Hindu Girls Senior Secondary School in Yamunanagar had the highest number of candidates at 23. There were several schools that had one candidate appearing for the Plus 2 boards. Principal Dheer Singh Nagar of Nambardar Public School in Jasana, Faridabad, confirmed no student had passed the Class 12 boards. “It’s partly due to issues with board exam eligibility. Around 8-10 students received permission to sit for the exams late, or not at all. Several students, even those initially eligible, were not attending classes,” he added. Rajneesh Bhardwaj, principal of Bharat Bharti Public School in Saran (Faridabad), said only two students appeared for the boards, but could not clear it. Govt Senior Secondary School in Otha (Nuh) also registered a zero pass score. Its principal identified teacher shortages as the primary reason for this dismal performance. “Our students faced difficulty with English mostly. The PGT English post has been vacant for nearly three years,” he said. The principal noted that none of the 13 students who appeared passed, and six received a compartmental in English. “Clearing that would have boosted the school’s pass rate to around 40%. Vacant posts have severely harmed students’ chances. There is also a need for greater parental awareness. Such issues are regularly reported through official channels, including the system’s management information portal, but to no avail,” he added. Teachers agreed about these challenges. They observed that frequent teacher vacancies, especially in critical subjects like English, hindered an effective instruction process. They also claimed that many students did not attend classes regularly, which compounded difficulties. “Teachers are being assigned extensive non-teaching duties, such as booth level work and more. They are so overburdened with non-academic tasks whose mental strain is immense,” a teacher said.