‘No Detention’ Policy Scrapped For Classes 5 and 8, Check The details

NEW DELHI: The Union government has withdrawn the ‘no-detention policy’ for the students of classes 5 and 8 in the schools governed by the Centre. Now, the students of classes 5 and 8 who fail to clear their year-end examinations will not be promoted to the higher classes.

If a student does not meet the promotion criteria after regular exams, they will be given an additional opportunity for re-examination within two months of the declaration of results. If they fail again, the student will be retained in the same class.

When the child is held back, the class teacher shall guide the child as well as the parents, if necessary, and provide specialised inputs after identifying the learning gaps at various stages of assessment.

The Ministry of Education has published a gazette notification dated December 16, titled “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Rules, 2024” in this regard.

To see full the gazette notification, click here .

This policy change applies to more than 3,000 schools managed by the Central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools.

However, the states have the autonomy to adopt or reject the policy.

“Since school education is a state subject, states are free to make their own decisions. Already, 16 states and two Union Territories have opted out of the ‘no-detention policy’ for classes 5 and 8,” media reports quoted a senior official of Ministry of Education as saying.

“However, there is a provision that students will not be expelled until class 8. According to the National Education Policy, we don’t assess students’ learning outcomes properly. To implement this, children who are not excelling in their studies will be given special attention,” said Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education & Literacy.

Haryana and Puducherry have yet to take a decision, while other states and Union Territories have opted to retain the policy. Despite the policy change, the government has assured that no child will be expelled from school before completing their elementary education.

‘No-Detention’, a key feature of RTE Act

The ‘No-Detention’ policy, a key feature in the Right to Education Act 2009, prevented the detention or failure of students up to Class 8. Under this policy, all students get promoted to the next class without facing traditional examinations.

The policy marked a shift in how student performance is assessed. Instead of relying on traditional exams, the Act mandates the use of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) as the primary assessment method.

The ‘no detention’ provision was introduced because exams often serve to eliminate students who score poorly.

No change in pass system in Tamil Nadu

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has said that there will be no change in the pass system in the state due to the amendments made by the Union government to the Right to Education Act.

The present system of passing every child till Class VIII will continue, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has said.