Govt scraps no-detention policy for classes 5 and 8

No automatic promotions in classes 5 and 8

- Sanjay Maurya

NEW DELHI: The central government has abolished the no-detention policy for students in classes 5 and 8, allowing schools to hold back students who fail annual examinations. The change affects more than 3,000 central government schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.

"We want access, but we also want to improve learning outcome among students under New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Through changes in the rules, we will be able to pay attention to those students who are not good at studies due to some reasons," said Sanjay Kumar, school education secretary, on Monday. The policy change, notified on December 16 through amendments to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, introduces what it calls a balanced approach to student assessment. While allowing schools to hold back students, it mandates remedial instruction and re-exam opportunities.