Brief Understanding of the No Detention Policy

According to India’s existing education system, all students up to Level 8 will automatically be promoted to the following class. According to the Right to Education Act, No one is capable of being denied an education, and it’s called the ‘No-Detention Policy.’  

Last year, an expert committee led by T S R Subramanian, charged with drafting the new National Education Policy, advised that the ‘no-detention policy’ be reconsidered and that exams begin in Class VI. The Union Cabinet has accepted the abolition of the no-detention policy in schools until the eighth grade.

What Does the ‘No-Detention’ Policy Entail?

According to the Right to Education Act’s no-detention policy, no student can fail or be expelled from school until they complete primary school, covering classes 1 – 8. All pupils up to and including Level 8 will automatically be promoted to the next class.

The policy’s main point is that students should not be ‘failed’ and held in detention until they reach Class 8. Up to Class 8, there are no “examinations” in the traditional sense. Instead, the Act requires that students’ learning be assessed and evaluated using a method known as Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE).

The Right To Education (RTE) Act

• Article 21-A of the Indian Constitution was added in 2002 by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, making it a Fundamental Right to provide free and free and mandatory education to all children aged six to fourteen years in a manner that the State may designate by legislation.
• It implies that every child has the right to a competent and equitable full-time elementary education in a formal school that meets certain fundamental standards.
• It took effect on April 1, 2010.

Why is The No-Detention Policy Being Reconsidered?

Several states, notably Delhi, have strongly opposed the no-detention policy, identifying it as a cause of high failure and dropout rates in grades 9 and 10.

Students are also accused of not focusing on education due to the no-detention policy because they already believe they have guaranteed promotion to the next class even if they do not do well.

Guaranteed promotion is often thought to be a negative connotation to competitive education.

New Proposal

When the no-detention policy is repealed, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Amendment Bill will include an enabling language that will empower states to detain pupils in grades 5 and 8 if they fail the year-end exam.

Criticisms of the “No-Detention Policy”

Negative influence on educational standards: Most schools in rural areas operate without teachers. As a result, if the “no-detention policy” persists, it will severely impact India’s educational standards and compel children to confront a more difficult future.

Students have developed a lackadaisical attitude due to this strategy because there is no fear of failing. It also doesn’t differentiate between good and terrible pupils, or Others who put in a lot of effort and those who don’t. As a result, there are no practical means to implement high-quality teaching and learning.

Teachers’ apathy: The Education Department does not take steps to reform itself due to the policy, and teachers do not go to the trouble of ensuring that children receive a proper education.

Students with bleak futures: Students from low-income families will have difficulties in their future lives due to a lack of quality education in schools.

Will impact women’s empowerment programs: Girls, in particular, will have a huge problem if they do not receive a suitable education in schools.

Zero academic outcomes: If no merits are considered when children are promoted to another class, they will never learn the value of studying and learning. It will result in low academic performance in class.

Will Scrapping The No-Detention Policy Address All Issues?

Inadequate teacher preparation, social apathy to the predicament of school teachers, and in small towns and villages, the frequent employment of ad hoc teachers, among other factors, have all contributed significantly to a failed educational system. Simply scrapping the strategy will not greatly enhance the country’s academic standards.

According to some educators, the guideline was misinterpreted, resulting in an environment where the importance of evaluating a student’s learning results was diminished. Many schools declined to use Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), a method of regularly testing a child’s understanding of what was being taught in class. Poor outcomes cannot be attributed solely to policy.

Teachers did not have appropriate training to carry out this reform and did not know what would be evaluated. CCE was reduced to “project work in numerous schools,” which parents despised. The RTE’s requirements for improved school infrastructure and a higher teacher-to-student ratio would have created a favourable climate for the policy. Rather than the no-detention policy, the poor performance can be attributed to a range of variables.

Conclusion

Rather than addressing the root causes of low educational quality in the country, the whole focus appears to be on reintroducing the pass/fail system. The hour’s requirement is for a higher level of seriousness on all sides, and it’s past time for efforts to address the remaining issues.

As a result, the policy should be amended with suitable adjustments to minimise the negative implications, or it should be replaced with a new, more balanced approach. The main goal should be to encourage children’s holistic development and provide them with life skills.