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Parliament Nods Bill Discarding ”No Detention” Policy
As per the old policy, children could not be failed in examinations, and their promotion to next class could not be withheld up to Class 8.
After a brief discussion, the Rajya Sabha passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The bill seeks to discard the "no detention" policy up to Class 8th. It aims at improving the "learning outcomes".
The Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill. However, the bill empowers the state governments to either keep the no detention policy intact or to discard it.
As part of the debate in the upper House, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar said “Education Ministers from 25 states are in favour of scrapping the "no detention" policy while four states said they want to keep it.”
"It says there should be examination. Competition is not a killer. When children play, they also participate in a competition of sorts. So, they should take school examinations in the same spirit," the minister said; thus, "The Bill is leaving it to the states to either end the no detention policy or keep it."
He, further added, that the apprehension of increase in school dropout rate was not found. "There are no dropouts up to Class 8 as there is no examination. But there is 20 per cent dropout rate at Class 9 and another 20 per cent at Class 10. But 'you have not learnt what you have studied' is no education," Javadekar said.
According to the minister, it’s the responsibility of the teacher to give the students remedial classes for two months, if a child fails in a class. Thus, after the remedial classes, the child will require to appear again for the examination.
Once the President gives his assent, the Bill will become a law.
He also cleared the air around the board examination debate by saying that normal examination (not board examination) will be held for classes 5 and 8 in the school.
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Image Courtesy: Loksabhatv