Education ministry scraps ‘no detention policy’ for Class 5, 8 students in central schools

NEW DELHI: The Union education ministry has scrapped the ‘no detention policy’ for students of Classes 5 and 8. As per the policy, students who fail the annual examination in these classes will be able to take a re-test within two months of the result declaration.

This new policy applies to over 3,000 central government-run schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools. This major change in detention policy reverses the 2019 amendment to the Right to Education Act.

The ‘no detention policy’ also stated that if the students fail to pass the retest, they will not be promoted and the school will not expel the students until Class 8.

The central government has also amended the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010 allowing states to hold “regular exams” for students in Classes 5 and 8 and hold them back if they fail.

“If the child appearing in the re-examination fails to fulfil the promotion criteria again, he shall be held back in Class 5 or Class 8, as the case may be," Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the education ministry said during a press conference.

He further instructed teachers to provide remedial classes to address learning gaps of students who fail to clear the exams. The decision was taken to improve the learning outcome among children studying in central schools, Kumar added.

In June 2023, the Maharashtra government re-introduced the annual exams which allowed schools to detain students who fail and conduct re-exam within 2 months after the announcement of the results. Earlier this year, the Directorate of Education, Delhi had informed schools that the admission policy will not change for Classes 5, 7, 8 and that it has dropped the ‘no detention policy’ two years ago.