No detention' may soon be till Class 5, not 8

New Delhi: Union law and justice ministry has given the go-ahead to a human resource development ministry proposal to restrict the no-detention policy from the present Class 8 to Class 5 because children are getting undisciplined “as they do not have the fear of failing”.

The HRD ministry can amend section 16 of the Right to Education Act, 2009 as the proposal is based on the recommendation of a sub-committee and “relates to matter of policy”, the law ministry has said.

It said “there seems to be no objection” to amend the law to state that “no child admitted in a school shall be held back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of Class 5”.

The existing provision says the no-detention or no-fail policy is applicable till the completion of elementary education (Class 8). In its December 8 note, the Department of Legal Affairs in the law ministry said, “Appropriate governments (states) may, if it deem necessary, make rules for detaining a child in Classes 6, 7 or 8 provided that an additional chance may be given” (to students to reappear in exams).

The note pointed out that the HRD ministry reached the conclusion to restrict the no-detention policy to Class 5 from Class 8 after examining “various adverse consequences” of the present provision.

“Children are becoming indisciplined as they do not have fear of failing and thus affecting the quality of education.”

Several states have requested to review the no-detention policy during the meetings of sub-committee of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), which was set up to assess the implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the context of no detention provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act.