Explained: What is the no-detention policy and why Tamil Nadu refuses to end it peppermint

The Education Ministry has recently ended the ‘no-detention policy’ for students in classes 5 and 8 of all government schools. However, Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said that the state will continue to follow the ‘no-detention policy’ till class eight.

This policy was abolished after amendment in The Right to Education Act was approved in 2019It will come into effect only after an official notification is issued in December 2024. Explaining the delay in notification, an official said that the new National Education Policy (NEP) The amendment was announced within six months.

What is this no-detention policy, And why did Tamil Nadu refuse to end it? Here’s everything you need to know.

What was the now abolished ‘no-detention policy’?

Centre’s no-detention policy introduced under Adhikar Education Act 2009It states that no student of classes 1-8 can fail or be expelled from school until he completes primary school.

According to the government, Section 16 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 states that “No child admitted to school shall be detained in any class or removed from school until he completes elementary education (Classes 1-8). Will not be expelled.” ,

According to a PRS Legislative Research report, the objective behind introducing the ‘no-detention policy’ or automatic promotion to the next class was to reduce dropouts, make learning enjoyable and remove the fear of failing in exams.

No-detention policy, a ‘controversial issue’

This policy soon became a controversial issue in many states, with many speculating whether it would lead to “degraded student learning outcomes”. Some state governments wrote to the Center to re-examine the no-detention provision of the RTE Act.

The government’s written reply to a similar question in the Lok Sabha in 2017 said that a subcommittee was constituted to assess the implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the context of the no-detention provision in the RTE Act, 2009. Was.

The answer states that 2015It was decided that all States/UTs should share their views on the no-detention policy.

“Twenty-eight states have shared their views on the no detention policy, out of which 23 states have suggested amendments to the no detention policy,” it said in a written response in the Lok Sabha.

In 2015The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi requested to limit the no-detention policy to Class 3. A press release noted that “some states, namely, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura have been imposing no-detention during sub-committee meetings of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) Requested to review the policy.

Following the amendment in the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, at least 18 states and union territories have already removed the ‘no-detention policy’ for two classes (Class 5 and 8).

Why was the no-detention policy abolished?

A PRS report published in 2017 stated that with the enactment of RTE, enrollment at the primary level reached 100 percent. However, at successively higher levels less transition of students from one class to another was observed.

“This has resulted in high school dropout rates at the secondary education level, with the dropout rate at the Class 10 level being the highest at 17 percent,” the report said.

What changes now? New rule explained for class 5 and 8

The rule change announced in December 2024 states that students in classes 5 and 8, who Failed year end exams can now be stopped,

Earlier, the no-detention policy applied to all students from classes 1 to 8, meaning no student would fail and be detained in the same class – they would be promoted to the next class anyway.

Now the Center has ended this policy. While explaining about the new rule, Sameer Sarkar, Arts Head of Ramagya Noida Extension, said that now students can be stopped from classes 5 and 8 if they fail twice. He said that students from other classes will be promoted.

“This rule especially applies to classes 5 and 8 as they are transition classes [one moving to 6th middle school and the other to senior school 9th), hence the government feels them to be important,” Sarkar said.

This applies to all government schools.

What the 2019 amended act says: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2019, states that “There shall be a regular examination in the fifth class and in the eighth class at the end of every academic year.”

“If a child fails in the examination…he shall be given additional instruction and granted opportunity for re-examination within a period of two months from the date of declaration of the result,” the amendment stated.

It further provided a clause that the “appropriate government” may allow schools to hold back a child in class 5 or class 8 or in both classes “if he fails in the re-examination.”

Meanwhile, a gazette notification released this week stated that after the conduct of regular examination, if a child fails to fulfil the promotion criteria, as notified from time to time, he shall be given additional instruction and opportunity for re-examination within a period of two months from the date of declaration of results.

“If the child appearing in the re-examination fails to fulfil the promotion criteria again, he shall be held back in fifth class or eighth class, as the case may be,” the notification read.

“During the holding back of the child, the class teacher shall guide the child as well as the parents of the child, if necessary, and provide specialised inputs after identifying the learning gaps at various stages of assessment,” the notification states.

The government has clarified that no child shall be expelled from any school till the completion of elementary education.

‘States can make their decision’

A senior Ministry of Education official told news agency PTI that since school education is a state subject, states can make their decision in this regard.

“Already 16 states and two UTs, including Delhi, have done away with the no-detention policy for these two classes,” the official added.

States and UTs that have scrapped the no-detention policy include Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported.

“Haryana and Puducherry have not made any decision yet, while remaining states and UTs have decided to continue with the policy,” a senior official said.

According to the officials, the notification will apply to over 3,000 schools run by the central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.

Tamil Nadu to follow no-detention policy. Here’s why

Tamil Nadu’s School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said the Centre’s move to allow schools to detain students in the same class (Class 5 or 8) if they fail to clear exams created a big stumbling block for children from poor families in getting educated without any hassles up to Class 8 and this was “regrettable”.

The Minister said that Tamil Nadu does not follow the National Education Policy (NEP), and the Centre’s decision will not affect schools in Tamil Nadu other than those that fall under the union government’s ambit.

“There need not be any confusion and Tamil Nadu will continue to the present system,” he was quoted by PTI.