The no-detention policy will be scrapped or improved upon with the Union Cabinet’s approval. (PTI Photo)
After 60,000 students failed to clear the class 10 exams through the open schools, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal commented that the no-detention policy has ruined the education system. He further assured that all these students will be readmitted.
“Previous governments introduced no-detention policy till class 8. It ruined the education system. When students took their first exam in class 9 they failed en-mass. They appeared through open school in class 10 and 60,000 students failed,” Kejriwal said at a gathering in Chattarsal Stadium on Independence Day.
He added that students who have failed will be readmitted and can attend special classes which will help them clear the exam in the next round.
The no-detention policy will be scrapped or improved upon with the Union Cabinet’s approval. The policy states that “No child admitted in a school shall be held back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education”.
The ministry of Human Resource Development had published a list of changes to the no-detention policy earlier this year in March stating four rules:
i) There will be an exam at class 5, the form of which will be decided by the states and union territories.
ii) Children who fail will get a chance to improve with additional instructions and an improvement exam. A child will only be detained if they fail a second time.
iii) Students will be required to appear for a school based exam at classes 6 and 7.
iv) An external exam should be conducted at class 8. Students will be given a chance to improve their scores in case they fail the first time.
The government is planning to enable a provision for Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Amendment Bill to allow states to detain failing students of classes 5 to 8. The parliament will now look into the bill.
