Govt removing all stops to do away with ‘no-detention’ rule in schools.

The fact that international comments are coming in on the condition of our primary school education system is at once a matter of concern and introspection. Recently, Singapore deputy PM Tharman Shanmugaratnam gave a lecture highlighting the crisis in India's primary school education system. The HRD ministry has since then swung into action to provide a solution.

Notably, the ministry has accorded the top priority to scrapping the ‘no-detention’ policy till class VIII as per the RTE Act without going the legislative route. Without wasting any time after the lecture last Friday, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar reportedly conferred with the attorney general seeking his advice on how the said clause could be done away with using the executive route.

The education ministry is echoing with the same thought the 'no detention' clause is the reason for low learning outcomes. The fact that many states have been asking for the same has pushed the ministry into action."For more than 2 years, there has been a growing consensus that ‘no-detention’ should be limited till Class V. Waiting for amendment in the RTE Act will take very long," a senior official said.

There is a political reason behind this unusual approach taken by the minster as there is a fear that the amendment bill might fail in Rajya Sabha as the government doesn’t have a majority there. However, even the executive route is fraught with uncertainty if it gets challenged in the SC. As the education ministry continues to grapple with the most assured route of doing away with `no detention', meanwhile the home ministry has sought its views on the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Delhi Amendment) Bill, 2015 passed by Delhi assembly last year.

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The amendment passed in Delhi abolished the no-detention policy. Notably, the AAP political party which governs Delhi has been among the first to protest against the no-detention policy. In most probability, the HRD ministry will return the amendment. The ministry has already rejected a similar amendment proposed in the Rajasthan assembly. According to the ministry States did not have the power to amend central legislations like RTE Act. "The Centre will have to take a decision," an official said.

Read the original story by Akshaya Mukul at www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com