No-Detention Policy Will Go Away From Next Academic Year, Says HRD Ministry

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has said that the no-detention policy for students will no longer remain in practice from the next academic session, Live Mint has reported. The policy, various reports suggest, has adversely affected learning outcomes and quality of education.

“There has been a unanimous decision of withdrawing the no-detention policy from the Right to Education Act 2009,” Mahendra Nath, Union minister of state for HRD, was quoted by the daily as saying in Agartala.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government introduced the Right to Education (RTE) Act in the year 2009. Under RTE, no child admitted in a school will be held back in any class or expelled till the completion of elementary education, even if a child fails to meet the required standards for promotion.

According to the Hindustan Times, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that an enabling provision is being made in the RTE amendment bill that will allow states to conduct examinations in class 5 and 8 and detain students if they fail.