Monsoon Session of Parliament: Govt to bring bill to end 'no-detention' policy for classes 5 to 8

New Delhi: Government will soon introduce a bill in Parliament to do away with the ’no-detention’ policy for the classes 5 to 8, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Friday in the Lok Sabha. [caption id=“attachment_3762899” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Prakash Javadekar. PTI[/caption] He said the students of classes 5 to 8 who do not pass the examination in the month of March will be given a chance in May. But, if they fail in May, they will be detained, the minister said, explaining the provisions of the bill that the government intends to bring to change the current policy. Under the current ’no-detention’ policy, all students are promoted to the next grade up to class 8. Javadekar was replying on ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017’. The ’no-detention’ or ’no-fail’ provision, laid down under Section 16 of the Right To Education (RTE) Act, prohibits schools from detaining or expelling any student up to class 8. The policy had been brought as it was felt that compelling children to repeat a class was demotivating, often forcing them to abandon school. However, several states had raised concerns related to the quality of education because of the ’no-detention’ policy. Meanwhile, as many as 28 private members bills including Paternity Benefit Bill, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Rajeev Satav (Congress) introduced the bill to regulate the employment of men in certain establishments for certain periods before and after becoming a father and to provide a paternity benefit and certain other benefits.