Fact Check: Delhi Class XII results & how Manish Sisodia got it wrong

The entire media went by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia’s statements about government schools in Delhi doing 9% better than private schools which is factually incorrect.  

CBSE recently released the results of Class XII for the year 2017. Soon after these results were announced, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio took to twitter announcing that Delhi Government schools did better than private schools for a second year in row. He also said that pass percentage ofDelhi Government schools is 88.27% & private schools is 79.27%.

Delhi govt schools get 88.27% results in Class 12. Pvt schools: 79.27%. Govt schools do better than pvt schools, for a second year in row!

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 28, 2017

He went onto tweet that Delhi government schools had 2% better results than private schools in 2016 and in 2017, the lead increased to 9%.

Last year Delhi govt schools had 2% better result than private schools, this year it is 9% better!

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 28, 2017

In fact, in a rare case of a BJP Minister appreciating AAP, union minister for Urban Development, Venkaiah Naidu tweeted a Times of India story on these results and said that Delhi government schools taking a 9% lead over private schools is impressive.

Impressive that Govt schools in #Delhi take 9% lead over private institutions in pass percentage of #CbseResults2017https://t.co/m50I0BwvBR

— M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) May 29, 2017

Almost all media houses like the Times of India, The Hindu, India Today , First Post, Hindustan Times shared these statistics. 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 data released by CBSE. CBSE put out a detailed statistical statement like every year and this tells a different story.

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 the 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 3^rd year in row and not second as Manish Sisodia tweeted. Delhi Government schools have fared better than their private counter parts since 2015. Manish Sisodia’s claim that the pass percentage in Delhi government schools is 88.27% is also factually incorrect. As per CBSE’s official statistical statement, the pass percentage in Delhi government schools is 88.36%. The pass percentage of Delhi private schools is 84.2% and not 79.27% as tweeted by Sisodia. 79.27% is the pass percentage of private schools at an All-India level and not Delhi

Statement 2: Government Schools did 9% better in 2017

Manish Sisodia’s second tweet is about the 9% better results in government schools this year compared to the 2% in 2016.  While he is right about the 2% lead in 2016 (Government: 88.98% Vs Private: 86.67%), he is wrong about the 9% lead in 2017. He calculated the 9% lead taking the All India private schools pass percentage in 2017 which is 79.27% instead of Delhi private schools. The CBSE data shows that the Delhi private schools pass percentage in 2017 is 84.2% and not 79.27% as was claimed by Sisodia and other media houses. If this taken into consideration, then the lead is only 4% and not 9%. One cannot compare Delhi figures in 2016 and All-India figures in 2017.  If the lead was 2% in 2016, then the lead is 4% in 2017.  Else, if the All-India private schools pass percentage is compared in both years, then the lead in 2016 was 6.5% and in 2017 is 9%.

Have government schools done better under AAP?

In Delhi, the government schools have maintained a consistent pass percentage of around 88% in each of the years starting 2013. In the same time period, the private schools have slipped from 91.83% in 2013 to 84.2% in 2017. Even at an All-India level, the private schools have slipped from 82.31% in 2013 to 79.27% in 2017. The government schools on the other hand slipped from 84.89% in 2013 to 82.29% 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% when all others slipped.