The AAP government is all set to amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to do away with the “no-detention policy” till Class 8 as has been done in a number of other states. The Act is reportedly being amended without prior approval of the Centre.
A majority of teachers in government schools are said not to be in favour of the no-detention policy as they feel that instead of helping children, it has instead ruined the entire learning environment by letting the children take exams for granted.
In the past few years, many cities had witnessed a rise in the number of students failing their Class 9 exams. In Delhi, for instance, the number of repeating students as a percentage of total students enrolled in Class 9 rose from 2.8 per cent in 2010 to a startling 13.4 per cent in 2014.
According to the proposed amendment, “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides right to all children to free and compulsory quality education, but after the implementation of this Act some provisions are prohibiting quality education. No detention policy up to Class 8 is creating problems to such children who are not attaining minimum level of learning of appropriate class.”
“These problems are realised when these children are essentially promoted to the next class. It is proposed to bind the state government to ensure quality education and to provide that children may not be promoted in higher classes unless they have acquired class-appropriate learning level. Accordingly, sections 8 and 16 of the Act are proposed to be amended.”
Earlier, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had stated that because of the no-detention policy, the students were being promoted by schools till Class 8 leading to deterioration of standards and level as has been pointed put by teachers and parents. “So the decision to remove the no-detention policy has been taken in a Cabinet meeting.”
Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia had earlier met Union human resources development minister Smriti Irani and urged her to remove no detention policy from the existing Act.
At a recent meeting on the framing of the “new education policy” organised by the ministry of human resources development in New Delhi on October 31, the city’s education department had submitted a suggestion to do away with the “no-detention” policy, keeping in mind dismal performances of the students studying in the government schools, especially in Class 9. Education secretary Sarvjit Singh and the director public instructions (schools) Rubinderjit Singh Brar had attended the meeting, where they discussed the 20 themes of higher education and 13 themes of school education.
Reacting to the AAP government’s proposed Amendment Act, Congress leader Chhatar Singh said that if the administration was serious about scrapping the “no-detention policy,” it should send the draft to the Centre for prior approval. “Brining an amendment without approval of the Centre, seems to be an eyewash.”
