The no-detention policy, which was implemented in 2011 to prevent schools from failing students in Classes V to VIII, led to a 40% drop in the pass percentage for Class IX students in Delhi government schools, suggests official data.
But despite the Union Cabinet scrapping the policy, experts say that detaining students won’t be enough.
After the Delhi government implemented the policy, which was a part of the Right to Education Act, the percentage of Class IX students clearing the year-end exams has plummeted every year.
According to data from the Directorate of Education (DoE) accessed by The Hindu, 95% of Class IX students cleared the examination in 2011-2012, the year in which the policy was first implemented. It fell to 89% in 2012-2013 while in 2013-2014 the pass percentage dipped to 55.96%. In 2014-2015, the pass percentage was 51.74% and in 2015-2016 it was 50.78%.
‘Stress-free learning’
In 2016-2017, after the AAP government introduced the Chunauti scheme that aimed at improving reading levels, the pass percentage went up slightly to 52.28%.
Atishi Marlena, advisor to Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia, said that though the AAP government had wanted to scrap the no-detention policy, it believed in a “stress-free learning environment”. “The time hasn’t come for no-detention. First, we need to reform the assessment process, which we are doing. Accountability of all stakeholders needs to be maintained. There is no pressure on the parents to ensure that the child goes to school till Class IX,” said Ms. Marlena.
For teachers, the decision to scrap the policy is a welcome move. Ajay Veer Yadav, general secretary of the Government Schools Teachers’ Association, said the policy had set the quality of education back by nearly 20 years.
Commenting on the Class IX results for Delhi government schools over the past three years, Mr. Yadav said schools need more time to prepare students. He added that it would take five to six years to undo the damage.
Parents must be involved
“The main problem was that since the parents of government school children are mostly uneducated, they were under the impression that their children were doing well because they kept getting promoted. Now, if their children do not perform well, they will take an interest in ensuring that they spend time on learning beyond school hours,” said Mr. Yadav.
Others, however, were less hopeful. Ashok Aggarwal, an advocate and activist working in the field of education, said that scrapping the policy “won’t change anything”.
“The governments have been unable to ensure the quality of education. The no-detention policy applied to private schools too, but there the schools and parents were more involved. Government schools were affected because the fundamental problems were not addressed,” said Mr. Aggarwal.