Thiruvananthapuram: The state government is unlikely to change the present non-detention policy followed in state syllabus schools even if the central boards have plans to scrap it.
The policy has provisions to ensure that students are promoted automatically to higher classes every year till the end of upper primary.
No detention policy was adapted to ensure that every child aged between six and 14 received school education.
The new decision of the Union HRD ministry was to introduce a provision that students needed to pass V and VIII exams for promotion. However, those who fail might get another opportunity even if the existing policy is scrapped.
These exams have to be held before the commencement of the academic year in June.
However, it is for the state government to decide whether to hold exams in classes V and VIII as education is on the concurrent list.
Those states which do not want any changes in the policy will be free to continue status quo.
One of the claims made by the HRD ministry for doing away with it was that the National Achievement Survey (NAS) conducted by NCERT had found that learning outcome had deteriorated after the implementation of the policy. Following, this, it decided to fix the learning outcome for each class.
C. Swaraj, the associate programme coordinator of the State Resource Centre (SRC), said one of the reasons for the poor scholastic performance of students were systemic failures.
“It's not correct to crucify students for such failure at the managerial and administrative level,” he told DC.
“My personal view is that students should be allowed to continue without detention till class X. They should be given remedial classes or tutorials for overcoming poor scholastic performance.”
CPM’s Kerala State School Teachers Association (KSTA) general secretary K.C. Harikrishnan reminded that the Union government could not unilaterally withdraw the non-detention policy as it's on the concurrent list.
CPI's All Kerala School Teachers Union (AKSTU) general secretary N. Sreekumar said the Union government had in 2015 sought the opinion of states on the non-detention theory.
Though many had opposed the move for doing away with the policy, Kerala's UDF dispensation was not among them then.
It took the decision unilaterally without consulting stakeholders. Most of the teachers were in support of the present policy. However, the stand shifted after the regime change.
The non-detention theory was included as per the provisions of Section 16 of the RTE Act, 2009.
“Amendment can be done by the parliament only. Even then it is not binding on states as education is on the concurrent list," Mr Sreekumar said.
