No-detention policy scrapped, annual exams are back !

Maharashtra government scraps no-detention policy & reintroduces annual exams for Classes 5 and 8

The Maharashtra government has announced to scrap the No Detention Policy that is currently prevailing in schools of the state. Maharashtra government has now planned to hold compulsory exams in class 5 and 8 to check the progress of students. If a student fails to clear the respective exam the student shall be given a chance to reappear the exam within two months. However, if the student fails to clear the second attempt, he/she shall be held back and not be promoted and would face detention in same class.

Till now, under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or the Right to Education Act (RTE), enacted on 4th August 2009, no child could be detained or held back in a class until the completion of his/ her elementary education upto class 8. However, an amendment to the RTE Act was approved by the Parliament in 2019, in response to which the States shall soon scrap the no-detention policy.

A gazette notification issued by the Maharashtra School Education Department recently announced the annual examinations at the end of academic year for class five and eight. The format and procedure for the annual examination, re-examination and evaluation shall be designed by the state academic authority, i.e. State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra. Also, the gazette made it clear that no child shall be expelled from the school before completing the elementary education (till class 8). The said annual exams shall be locally held, conducted by individual schools, unlike the board exams.

Such a move has been largely welcomed by academicians and educationists who felt that it would finally put an end to the casual approach in school education by both students and teachers, introduced since the RTE no-detention policy. It is thought to bring about more accountability on the part of students and teachers and have a periodic assessment of student’s actual progress, which has long been a cause of concern of the parents.

The gazette also brings into implementation another clause recommended in RTE for age-appropriate admissions. According to this clause a child shall be enrolled only to an age-appropriate classes in sixth and eighth.

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