Delhi Govt revises admission criteria after dropping no detention policy; norms for Classes 7, 8 unchanged

NEW DELHI: Following the removal of detention policy, Delhi’s Directorate of Education has announced a revised admission criteria for Classes 6 to 8 for the academic session 2024-25. Accordingly, there will be changes in the admission policy for Class 6 while the rules for classes up to 5th, and Classes 7 and 8 will remain unchanged.

The directorate said since it dropped the ‘no detention policy’ for Classes 5 and 8 in the guidelines issued for exam and promotion of students in Classes 3 to 8 starting from the 2024-25 session, there is a need to revise the admission policy. It asked all government, govt-aided, and unaided recognised private schools of Delhi to follow the new criteria.

Delhi School Admission: Class 6 admission criteria

As per the DoE, the admission in Class 6 will be impacted because of two kinds of students seeking admission – one who has studied in a government school up to Class 5 and another who has not attended school and is seeking direct admission based on his or her right to admission in age appropriate class. To ensure fair chance for the student being held back and for the one seeking direct entry, the directorate has issued the following admission criteria:

Case 1: Child who has studied in Class 5 in any recognised school.

A child, who has been declared pass or promoted in Class 5 may be admitted to Class 6 subject to the condition that he or she has a valid mark sheet and SLC or Transfer Certificate or Migration Certificate issued by the school.

Case 2: Child who has not studied in Class 5 in any recognised school.

A child, who has not studied in Class 5 from any recognised school but having the age group of 10 to 12 years, may apply for admission in Class 6 under the Right to Information (RTE) Act to the head of the school nearby. The concerned school need may ensure the following:

• The age of the child must be as per circular.
• Assess the foundational literacy and numeracy of the child by using assessment tools.
• If the school head is satisfied with the performance of the child, they may be admitted in Class 6. If not satisfied, the child may be admitted in Class 5 either in the same school subject to availability of the class and seat or in any nearby school.

Also read Delhi Annual School Calendar 2024: DoE announces nursery-Class 12 admission schedule, holidays

The same admission policy will be used for admission of students to Class 7 in the academic session 2025-26 and Class 8 in the 2026-27 academic year, as per the circular.

No changes in admission rules for Classes 5, 7, 8

For admission of students to nursery and Class 5 in the upcoming academic session, the directorate said, “Since admission to these classes are not impacted by the amendment in rules, no change is proposed From Nursery to Class V. Accordingly, a child will be admitted in age appropriate class based on the Age Criteria / Age Relaxation,” Similarly, there will be no change in the existing admission norms for Classes 7 and 8 for this year.

In October 2022, Delhi government issued a new promotion policy for students of Classes 5 and 8 according to which students will not be promoted to the next class if they fail. In order to be declared ‘pass’, students must score 25% marks in the mid-term annual exams and 33% marks in the board exams. The students who are unable to pass will get a chance to improve through re-exam. Those who do not secure 25% marks in the re-exam will be held back in the same class, the guidelines iterated. However, the students of classes 3, 4, 6 and 7 will not be held back as per the fresh examination guidelines for these students.