The central government has made changes to the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Rules, 2010. They have introduced the provisions for the regular examinations and allowing the students in Class 5th and 8th to be held back under specific cases if they fail.

According to the new “Right to Free Compulsory Child Education Amendment Rules 2024” effective from December 16, annual competency-based examinations will be held for Class 5 and Class 8 students at the end of the academic year.

If a student fails to meet the promotion criteria, they will be given additional instruction and a re-examination within two months of the results being declared.

However, students failing the re-examination will be held back in the same class.

Previously, state governments had the discretion to implement detention policies. While 18 states have opted out of the no-detention policy, an equal number have chosen to retain it.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of School Education, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of School Education noted that the new rules will help improve the learning outcomes while giving special attention to students who are not academically strong. “The Government of India has decided that even after every effort, if detention is necessary, students may be detained. However, no child will be expelled from school until Class 8,” he said.

He further stated that, “If a student fails, teachers will provide them with two months of additional instruction, and only in exceptional cases will the student be detained. The focus is on enhancing learning outcomes.”

The amendments also mandate that retained students receive specialised inputs to address their learning gaps. The examination process will be competency-based, ensuring holistic development rather than rote learning.

What Is No-Detention Policy?

The Right To Education Act, enacted in 2009, introduced the ‘no-detention policy’. Under this policy, students up to class 8 had to be promoted automatically. To enhance the quality of education, a Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation system was introduced, but it was discontinued in 2017 due to poor implementation.

The Right to Education underwent an amendment back in 2019 to empower state governments. The major motive regarding the decision was to give them the right to decide on the introduction of detention policies, which was previously prohibited until class 8th.

The amendments aimed to address concerns regarding learning outcomes. Kumar highlighted that in 2019, 18 states decided to abolish the no-detention policy, while the other 18 continued with it. The new rules mark a significant policy shift in elementary education aimed at improving learning outcomes.

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