Delhi Govt allows failing children in Classes 5, 8; what promotion guidelines say

NEW DELHI: In a step towards bringing back the detention policy, the Delhi government has issued a new promotion policy for students of Classes 5 and 8 in the state. The guidelines will be implemented in all the government, government-aided, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools from the academic year 2023-24.

Students of Class 5 and Class 8 will not be promoted if they fail to pass the yearly examination. As per the new guidelines, students will be assessed based on the mid-term and annual examinations.

For Class 5, the promotion to the next higher class is also subject to the condition that a minimum of 25% of marks must be scored in mid-term examinations plus annual examination, i.e. 18 marks out of 70 in each subject. They will also be awarded grace marks up to maximum of 10 in all to reach the minimum required 33% of marks in each subject.

For Class 8, a student must secure at least 33% marks in each subject studied. The promotion to the next higher class will also be subject to the condition that a minimum of 25% of marks be scored in each subject in the annual examination.

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General guidelines

• As per The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, “No child shall be expelled from a school till the completion of Elementary Education".
• There will be a regular examination for Class 5 and 8 at the end of every academic year.
• If a child fails in the examination, he/she shall be given additional instructions and granted opportunity for re-examination within a period of two months from the date of declaration of the result.
• Assessment of Class 5 and 8 will be done on the same exam pattern as of Classes 3, 4, 6 and 7.
• Academic session for Classes 3 to 8 will have assessment as mid-term examinations which will be held in September/ October and Annual Examinations in February and March in pen and paper mode.
• Examinations will be conducted in such a manner that chances of copying, favouritism, injustice and victimization be reduced to the minimum.
• A summary of the analysis of class wise and subject wise results shall be prepared and kept in record.
• In case of local transfer of students, record of marks obtained in the mid-term examination, if any, in the previous school will be taken into account.
• Fraction of the marks will be rounded off as per mathematical formula in all the subjects and classes, for example: 8.1 to 8.4 will be rounded off to 8.0 and 8.5 to 8.9 rounded off to 9.0.

Re-exam for classes 5, 8

A candidate who appears in annual exam will be eligible for appearing for the re-exam in all the failing subjects, which will be held within a period of two months from the date of declaration of the result.

Class 5 and 8 re-examination will be conducted on the same syllabus and pattern as of annual examination. Class 5 re-exam will be held two hours and will be assessed out of 50 marks and Class 8 students will appear for two and half hours for 60 marks. Weightage of marks obtained by the student in re-examination will be proportionately calculated out of 70 marks.

“Marks obtained in the attendance of the student (5 marks) plus marks of Subject Enrichment (5 marks) plus marks of Project Based Activities (5 Marks) plus marks of Portfolio (5 marks) plus marks of Multiple Assessment (5 marks) plus marks of Periodic Tests/Unit Tests (5 marks) will be carried forward and added with the marks obtained by the student in the re-exam,” the guidelines read.

No benefit of grace marks will be awarded to students who are appearing for Class 5 and 8 re-exam.

Absence in the examination without a medical certificate to be submitted within three working days of the date of absence in the exam will be considered as wilful absence and no mark, credit or allowance will be given for the days of absence. However, students on leave on medical grounds will be allowed to appear in the re-exam.

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RTE Act

In 2009, the Right to Education (RTE) Act introduced the no-detention policy under which the students up to Class 8 had to be promoted. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was also introduced, but it was scrapped in 2017 due to poor implementation.

Later in 2019, the Delhi government had approved the formation of a committee that looked into bringing back the detention policy, after the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill in January 2019 to do away with the no-detention policy which was passed by Lok Sabha.