Lok Sabha's New Amendment For RTE Act Dismisses No-Detention Policy

The LokSabha has passed an amendment to the Right To Education Act that dismisses no-detention policy mentioned in the law. The current policy prohibits schools to detain students till they are done with their elementary education. In our country, elementary school runs from first to eight class. According to amendment, states can choose to conduct an examination either by the end of Classes 5 and 8 or both.

Students who do not clear the test will be given additional instruction and can appear for re-examination after 2 months of result declaration. If a student doesn't clear the exam even then, the government can opt for detaining them. The amendment was first introduced in August of 2017. The committee handed out the reports to both Houses of Parliament in Feb'18. The bill is reprimanded by the Right to Education forum. Its national convenor, AmbarishRai, feels that detainment of student can result in an unpleasant aftermath. He added that detaining a child can harm his psyche and can impact his self-esteem. This can cause deep impact on children particularly those who belong to marginalised communities. The no-detention policy act in 2009 banned the policy of having under-performed children repeat classes to make sure they don't drop out of school. It was meant to reduce significance of examinations and put it on students' progress.

By: Neha Maheshwari

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