Lok Sabha Question No. 641 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-06
Subject: No Detention Policy
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: HARISH CHANDRA MEENA, K. GOPAL, DODDAALAHALLI KEMPEGOWDA SURESH, NALIN KUMAR KATEEL, UDIT RAJ

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.641 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6.2.2017

## No Detention Policy

## 641. SHRI HARISH MEENA:

DR. K. GOPAL:

SHRI D.K. SURESH:

SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL:

DR. UDIT RAJ:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  'No  Detention  Policy'  has  become  contentious  issue  due  to deteriorating learning outcomes of students;
- (b) if so, whether the Government is reviewing to scrap the policy considering its adverse consequences and recommendation of the State Governments and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  Vasudev  Devnani  Committee  has  recommended  that  a  child should  be  given  a  chance  before  detention  from  class  Fifth  onwards  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to bring amendments in the Right to Education Act in this regard and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

(a) to (e): Section 16 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,  2009  stipulates  that  'No  child  admitted  in  a  school  shall  be  held  back  in  any  class  or expelled  from  school  till  the  completion  of  elementary  education'.  Thus,  the  policy  covers elementary stage of schooling covering classes 1 to 8.

In pursuance of a resolution adopted in the 59 th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) held on 6th June, 2012, a Sub-Committee was constituted for assessment of implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the context of NoDetention provision in the RTE Act, 2009. The Sub-Committee submitted its report in August, 2014.    The  report  of  the  Sub-Committee  was  placed  before  CABE  in  its  meeting  held  on 19.8.2015, wherein it was decided to request all States/UTs to share their views on the NoDetention policy.   28 States have shared their views on the No Detention policy out of which

23  States  have  suggested  modification  to  the  No  Detention  policy.    The  summary  of  the responses received from State Governments on No-detention policy is annexed.

In pursuance of the decision taken in the CABE Committee meeting held on 19.8.2016, another  Sub-Committee  under  the  Chairpersonship  of  Prof.  Vasudev  Devnani,  Minister  of Education, Government of Rajasthan was constituted on 26.10.2015 inter-alia, to review the feedback received from States/UTs on the 'No-Detention' policy. The recommendations of the Committee are as under:

- (i) There should be an examination at Class 5.  It should be left to the States and UTs to decide whether this exam will be at the school, block, District or State Level.
- (ii) If  a  child  fails  then  allow  the  child  an  opportunity  to  improve.    There  should  be additional instruction provided to children and the child should be given an opportunity to sit for another exam.  If the child is unable topass the exam in the second chance, then detain the child.
- (iii) At Classes 6 and 7, there should be a school based exam for students.
- (iv) At Class 8, there should be an external exam.  In case the child fails, the child should be given additional instruction and then appear for an improvement exam.  If fails again then detain.

The  matter  regarding  amendment  to  Section  16  of  the  RTE  Act,  2009  is  under  the active consideration of this Ministry.

******

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.641 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6.2.2017 ASKED BY SHRI HARISH MEENA, DR. K. GOPAL,   SHRI D.K. SURESH, SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL, AND DR. UDIT RAJ REGARDING NO DETENTION POLICY

The details of the responses received from States/UTs on 'No Detention' policy are as under:

|   S. No. | Name of the State/ UT   | Gist of Comments / Remarks of State Government / UTs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|----------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Bihar                   | No Detention Policy to be withdrawn and Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) Policy should be implemented. Performance of students should be assessed from time to time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|        2 | Himachal Pradesh        | 1. Introduction of internal examination at class 3 rd and third party examination at the level of 5 th and 8 th classes. 2. Detention of students at 3rd, 5 th & 8 th classes who fail to acquire class appropriate competences as identified at the respective level.                                                                                                                            |
|        3 | Madhya Pradesh          | Board examinations at classes 5th & 8th to be held because No Detention Policy has adverse impact on the academic performance of students.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|        4 | Mizoram                 | All teachers to be trained in various aspect of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) to enable them to practice it effectively. Till the system of CCE stabilizes, the No Detention Policy may be kept in abeyance for 5-7 yrs.                                                                                                                                                          |
|        5 | Odisha                  | Provisions of 'No Detention' may be revisited and the State may be allowed to follow their own evaluation system at the end of every grade with class appropriate assessment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|        6 | Punjab                  | Provisions of 'No Detention' may be amended to reintroduce exam system from 1 st - 8 th classes and start Board examination in classes 5 th & 8 th . A Resolution to this effect has been passed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.                                                                                                                                                                      |
|        7 | Rajasthan               | 'No Detention Policy' and 'Age appropriate Admission Policy' to be withdrawn due to the adverse impact in the quality of education on account of decline in the commitment levels of students as well as teachers towards education. Tests/examination and detention provide students a fair stage to perform, besides being a remedy for correcting the deficiency in the knowledge of students. |
|        8 | Sikkim                  | Roll out plan of 'No detention' in phased manner and assessment at classes 5th & 8th as regular attendance is not ensured by the family and thus 'No Detention' has further aggravated the motivation of students and teachers.                                                                                                                                                                   |

|   S. No. | Name of the State /UT   | Gist of Comments / Remarks of State Government / UTs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|----------|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        9 | Tripura                 | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be reviewed as this has led to a state of inattention to the teaching-learning process on the part of the children and has adverse impact on the regular attendance of students and teachers in schools.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|       10 | Uttar Pradesh           | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be revoked as it has resulted in lack of competition and has reduced the learning outcome of students.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|       11 | Uttarakhand             | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be withdrawn as this has brought down the standard of education. Half-yearly and annual examinations should be conducted in order to improve the quality of education of students and also their competitive spirits. This would also increase the responsibility of teachers.                                                                                                                                                                 |
|       12 | Puducherry              | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be reviewed as it has led to deterioration in quality of elementary education and created negative impact on the students' as well as parents' attitude and mentality. Therefore, 'No Detention Policy' needs to be restricted up to class V.                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|       13 | Karnataka               | 'No Detention Policy' should continue in its present form as it is important to sustain students' interest in education and provide minimum 8 years of school education. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) should be improved and monitored, year-end evaluation for a few classes should be conducted and students with low scores should be helped in improving their learning through special teaching.                                                        |
|       14 | Delhi                   | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be amended as this has led to students being promoted to next class without achieving the desired learning level of a class and being able to comprehend and follow the subject taught. It further results in unreasonable and undisciplined behaviour of students or their dropping out of school. 'No Detention Policy' may be restricted up to Junior Primary class, i.e. class 3.                                                          |
|       15 | Kerala                  | 'No Detention Policy' to be withdrawn as there is no harm in allowing a student one more year to recoup rather than allowing the student to pass to the next higher stage in an unbaked condition. The teachers will also be able to assess and correct themselves. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) process to be strengthened. Periodical, terminal and year-end examination will be necessary for an objective analysis of the learning level of the student. |

|   S. No. | Name of the State / UT   | Gist of Comments / Remarks of State Government / UTs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|----------|--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       16 | Andhra Pradesh           | 'No Detention Policy' should continue as otherwise the dropout rate would increase and it would be difficult to fulfil the objective of universalization of elementary education. Detention of students would demotivate them and lead to rote learning and undue fear of exams on the students and encourage malpractice and suppresses creative thinking, analytical ability, exploration and experimentation skills of the students. Annual examinations should be conducted to assess learning levels for class III, V and VIII. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) should be strengthened. Quality of teaching should be improved. |
|       17 | Gujarat                  | 'No Detention Policy' to be reviewed and suitably modified.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|       18 | Nagaland                 | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be reviewed as it has adversely affected both the students and teachers. The policy has made the students lazy and non-serious in their studies and the teachers too casual in their approach to teaching. The pass percentage and the grades/marks obtained by students in class IX and HSLC Examination have declined due to 'No Detention Policy'.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|       19 | West Bengal              | 'No Detention Policy' to be withdrawn as the learning outcomes and school environment has suffered due to the policy. Adequate safeguards may be put in place so that drop outs do not increase.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|       20 | Haryana                  | 'No Detention Policy' needs to be withdrawn as it has resulted in deterioration in the quality of education due to decreased commitment levels of stakeholders. The policy has resulted in lackadaisical attitude on part of both students and teachers. For the policy to succeed, optimum teacher-pupil ratio should be optimum, along with compulsory attendance and effective implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). Tests/examinations provide students with competitive spirit besides motivating them to study.                                                                                                   |
|       21 | Telangana                | 'No Detention Policy' should continue to enable a child to learn better without fear of failure, detention and stigma. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) should be strengthened to evaluate the learning standards of the child regularly and which focuses not on rote learning but encourages creative and critical thinking.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|       22 | Maharashtra              | 'No Detention Policy' should continue with some changes as the policy has reduced school dropout rates and helps in building self esteem. Schools to test children at least thrice every year. States should be given freedom to decide whichever policy to follow.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |

|   S. No. | Name of the State / UT   | Gist of Comments / Remarks of State Government / UTs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|----------|--------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       23 | Goa                      | 'No Detention Policy' should continue in the interest of the elementary educvvation of all children. Measures should be taken for effective implemesntatin of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.                                                                                    |
|       24 | Jammu & Kashmir*         | Implementation of CCE should be reviewed with particular focus on regular assessment, evaluation and remedial teaching; detention from class 5th to 8th in a phased manner should be introduced; detention at class 9th should be done away with and external evaluation should be done in all classes from 5th onwards. |
|       25 | Chhattisgarh             | Detention should be at the level of class 8 and more than one opportunity should be given to pass class 8 exam. Also, the aggregate of points earned in class V should be carried forward to the next class.                                                                                                             |
|       26 | Arunachal Pradesh        | 'No Detention' should be reviewed and abolished.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|       27 | Daman& Diu               | Negative effects of 'No Detention' policy have been highlighted.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|       28 | Chandigarh               | No Detention Policy may be continued up to Class-IV. CCE may be continued. Centralized Annual Exam may be introduced in Class VII.                                                                                                                                                                                       |

The remaining States/UTs are yet to furnish their comments.

* RTE Act 2009 is not applicable in the State of Jammu&Kashmir