Govt scraps no-detention policy for classes 5 and 8

The central government has abolished the no-detention policy for students in classes 5 and 8, allowing schools to hold back students who fail annual examinations. The change affects more than 3,000 central government schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.

“We want access, but we also want to improve learning outcome among students under New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Through changes in the rules, we will be able to pay attention to those students who are not good at studies due to some reasons,” said Sanjay Kumar, school education secretary, on Monday.

The policy change, notified on December 16 through amendments to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, introduces what it calls a balanced approach to student assessment. While allowing schools to hold back students, it mandates remedial instruction and re-examination opportunities.

Also read | Pradhan urges minority education institutions to implement NEP provisions

Under the newly notified Rules, schools must provide failed students with additional instruction and a chance to retake examinations within two months. These assessments must be “competency-based examinations to achieve the holistic development of the child and not be based on memorisation and procedural skills,” the education ministry said.

The policy maintains crucial safeguards for student rights. Schools cannot expel any student before completing Class 8. School heads must maintain detailed records of struggling students and personally oversee specialised support programmes, with class teachers guiding both children and their parents after identifying learning gaps.

The policy was initially introduced as part of the 2009 Right to Education (RTE) Act, a landmark legislation of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that made free and compulsory education a fundamental right for children aged 6-14 years.

Also read | Centre undertaking reforms to ensure error-free entrance exam system: Pradhan

The no-detention component ran from 2010 to 2019, when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government made it optional for fifth and eighth graders. After this amendment, at least 16 states and two Union territories, including Delhi, did away with the policy.

The journey to this policy shift began in August 2015, when 23 of 28 states advocated for scrapping the no-detention policy at a Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meeting.

Several states have already embraced similar policies. Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi have implemented systems to detain students who fail Classes 5 or 8, reflecting a national trend towards balancing academic standards with educational access.

While the policy was originally introduced to reduce dropout rates in elementary education, it faced criticism from educators who argued it compromised academic standards.

Educators welcomed the move, saying the policy had led to a downfall in the quality of education, as students moved to higher classes.

“With the scrapping of no detention policy, the fear of failing will enable them to learn at least basic concepts to excel in life,” said Vaishali (single name), a teacher at a Delhi government school.

Educationist MK Sridhar, who was present in the 2015 CABE meeting, said the new notified rules are balanced, progressive and do not dilute RTE.

“The new rules are putting pressure for academic achievement on students, parents and teachers. The rules ask principals of the schools to maintain a list of children who are held back and personally monitor their progress with respect to the identified learning gap. I would suggest precautionary measures should be taken before the examination with class teachers identifying such students who are not good at studies to ensure children do not fail,” Sridhar said.

Pradeep Rawat, founder of the Parents Association in Gurgaon said, “If the students are not able to pass the exams even after additional chances, there is no problem in retaining them in the same class. The scrapping of no detention policy will enable students to study properly and grow to become better.”

However, some experts differed and said the problem was with looking at the policy in isolation and not in conjunction with the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) scheme in the RTE.

“No-detention does not mean that children can be promoted without any assessment, it means children are assessed through the school year to track their progress. Scrapping no detention defeats the purpose of RTE which is to enable children to stay in school till Class 8. With this amendment, children will be forced to repeat classes, increasing the risk of dropping out of school due to the stigma of failure and related reasons. In a sense, children will be pushed out of school before they complete elementary education which is violative of their fundamental right,” said Prof Poonam Batra, former faculty member at department of education, DU.