Delhi Govt Scraps ‘No Detention’ Policy

The Delhi government is doing away with its ‘no detention’ policy. The new promotion policy that comes into effect from the next academic year mandates that students of classes 5 and 8 will not be promoted if they fail to clear the annual examination.

According to PTI, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the ‘no detention policy’ was very progressive but the education system could not take full advantage of it due to lack of preparation. Through the new guidelines, the government aims to bring the “same degree of seriousness” to elementary grades as in classes 10 and 12.

The ‘no-detention policy’ of the Right To Education Act was first introduced in 2009, under which the students up to class 8 had to be promoted. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation was introduced to ensure quality education, but due to its poor implementation, the policy was scrapped in 2017.

In 2019, the Delhi government approved the formation of a committee to look into the removal of the no-detention policy, after Parliament amended the Act.

If a child is unable to pass class 5 or 8, he/she will get another chance to improve the performance within two months through re-examination,” the new assessment guidelines of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) said, according to PTI.

According to the guidelines, a student must secure 33 percent in each subject to “pass” each subject. The promotion is also subject to the condition that a minimum of 25 per cent marks must be scored in mid-term plus annual examinations, reported PTI.

In order to be declared “pass” in the re-examination, the student will have to secure at least 25 per cent marks in the subject(s), and if not, he or she will be placed in the “essential repeat” category — which means the candidate will be held back in the same class for next session.

The Directorate of Education under its new guidelines released on Friday, stated that students of classes 5 and 8 will also be assessed on their co-curricular activities, in addition to mid-term and annual examinations.

The co-curricular activities include project-based activities, portfolio, participation in the classroom, participation in activities such as theatre, dance, music, sports, and attendance.

The guidelines will be implemented in all the government, government-aided, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Cantonment Board and recognised unaided schools within the National Capital Territory of Delhi from the academic session 2023-24, reported PTI.