In a major move, the Ministry of Education has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools governed by it. The recent move allows school authorities to fail students who do not clear the year-end exams.
At least 16 states and two Union Territories have already done away with the 'no-detention policy' for the two grades after an amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019.
If students fail to clear the annual exams, they will subjected to additional coaching and an opportunity to take a re-exam within two months of the results.
"If the child appearing in the re-examination fails to fulfil the promotion criteria again, he shall be held back in fifth class or eighth class, as the case may be. During the holding back of the child, the class teacher shall guide the child as well as the parents of the child, if necessary, and provide specialised inputs after identifying the learning gaps at various stages of assessment," the notification said.
The government also issued a clarification that no child can be expelled from any school until their education is complete.
"During the holding back of the child, the class teacher shall guide the child as well as the parents of the child, if necessary, and provide specialised inputs after identifying the learning gaps at various stages of assessment," the notification added.
The examination and re-examination shall be competency-based examinations to achieve the holistic development of the child and not be based on memorisation and procedural skills, it said.
The notification will apply to over 3,000 schools run by the central government, including including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.
"Since school education is a state subject, states can make their decision in this regard. Already 16 states and 2 UTs including Delhi have done away with the no-detention policy for these two classes."
"Haryana and Puducherry have not made any decision yet while remaining states and UTs have decided to continue with the policy," a senior official said.
Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are among the states that have scrapped the no-detention policy.